Caldwell County suspect to undergo competency hearing

A Caldwell County court in Lockhart will hold a competency hearing Sept. 30 to determine whether a man who shot and killed two people in June 2020 is mentally fit to stand trial.

Caldwell County District Attorney Fred Weber confirmed experts from both the prosecution and defense will present testimony to a jury about the whether Bryan Haynes, 38, presently has the mental capacity to assist in his defense.

Haynes is accused in the June 9, 2020 slayings of Southeast Caldwell County Volunteer Fire Department firefighter Klayton Manning, 18, and his 16-year-old cousin Landin Robinson near the 4400 block of Tenney Creek Road in Tilmon. Manning and Robinson reportedly were investigating signs of smoke when they happened upon an individual, later identified as Haynes, who opened fire on the young men, killing both.

According to published reports, including one from KVUE-TV, Haynes claimed he was being chased by aliens and indicated that he had shot the “aliens” with his gun, emptying out a pair of 17-round magazines and a pair of 10-round magazines.

Haynes remains in the Caldwell County Jail in lieu of bond on capital murder charges after being arrested at a home in Bastrop County. Caldwell County applied for a grant and has hired Lisa Tanner, a former prosecutor with the Texas Attorney General’s Office, to prosecute the case due to her extensive experience in capital murder trials.