A Coos County Court has granted District Attorney Paul Frasier petition to commit 33-year-old Kevin Lee Yates to the State Hospital as an extremely dangerous person with mental illness. Yates was charged with Second Degree Murder allegedly murdering his grandmother in April last year. Teclutsa Margaret Sause died of homicidal violence inside her Barview-area home. Frasier said that shortly after Yates was charged, it was determined he had suffered from mental illness for years and couldn’t assist in his defense. The court at that time ordered that he be committed to the State Hospital for treatment. Frasier recently received notification Yates would never be able to aid in his defense. A second opinion from a mental health expert also agreed with the opinion of the State Hospital. A petition with the courts was granted earlier today. Yates will be committed to the State Hospital under the supervision of the Psychiatric Security Review Board. Yates will be committed for two years with a commitment that’s renewable. Frasier will move to dismiss the murder case once he is transported back to the State Hospital.
File Photo: April 10, 2021