Citing concerns about the defendant’s competency, a judge has paused a vehicular homicide case until the man can undergo a mental evaluation. Craig R. Spandl, a 47-year-old Arizona resident, is alleged to have been drunk when he went into the wrong lane and crashed head-on into an oncoming vehicle north of Cody in 2024.

The driver of the other vehicle, 77-year-old Craig Johnson, also of Arizona, died in the collision.

The Park County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has charged Spandl with three felony counts: two variations of aggravated homicide by vehicle plus aggravated assault and battery. However, Park County Circuit Court Judge Joey Darrah agreed last week to suspend the case until Spandl can be examined by personnel from the Wyoming State Hospital.

Spandl’s court-appointed defense attorney, Travis Smith, had requested the evaluation, citing unspecified information he’d received about Spandl’s “current mental state and fitness to proceed.”

Spandl suffered significant injuries and authorities initially didn’t detect any signs of impairment before he was flown to Billings. However, the Wyoming Highway Patrol later obtained medical records indicating that Spandl was intoxicated; a blood sample taken roughly two-and-a-half hours after the crash put his blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at 0.125% — over the legal driving limit of 0.08%.

Given the way that alcohol is broken down by the human body over time, “it is likely Spandl’s BAC was even higher at the time of the crash,” Trooper Kraig McInally wrote in an affidavit.

Prosecutors filed charges in early January, Spandl was arrested in Lake Havasu, Arizona, in early February and he made his first appearance in Park County Circuit Court on March 13.

At that hearing, Darrah set bail at $25,000 cash only. The judge followed the recommendation of Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Larry Eichele, who noted it took some time to get Spandl back to Cody and the seriousness of the charges.

Eichele also said that Spandl has a prior DUI, “and I think the public safety risk is paramount.”

A preliminary hearing had initially been set for March 23, but ahead of the hearing, Smith requested an evaluation.

Darrah granted the request on March 30 and committed Spandl to the care and custody of the Wyoming State Hospital. Darrah directed the state to conduct an examination “as soon as practicable.”

The state hospital is seeking to conduct Spandl’s evaluation at the Park County Detention Center — where he has been held since March 10 — to speed up the process; a state official told the court that “the current wait for admission to the Wyoming State Hospital [in Evanston] is five months.”

Darrah has set an April 29 hearing to consider the state hospital’s request.

Spandl’s case will remain on hold until the judge determines whether he is fit to proceed.