A Custar man who pleaded insanity in connection to shooting a bank subcontractor in the back late last
year has been deemed incompetent to stand trial by a mental health evaluator – but prosecutors want a
second opinion.
Thomas Boyer, 53, appeared Monday in the courtroom of Wood County Judge Reeve Kelsey. He is charged with
one count of attempted murder, a first-degree felony, and one count of felonious assault, a
second-degree felony.
Boyer is currently listed as an inmate at the Wood County jail. Earlier this year he had been a resident
at the Northwest Ohio Psychiatric Hospital, Toledo.
The charges stem from a Nov. 20 incident at Boyer’s former residence in the 22000 block of Defiance Pike.

That day, William Morris, 42, Rutland, a subcontractor ultimately employed by OneWest Bank, came to
Boyer’s residence to determine if it was occupied, and to change the locks and winterize it if it was
not.
The residence had previously been foreclosed and was to be offered up at a sheriff’s sale.
According to the Wood County Sheriff’s office, Boyer shot Morris once in the back with a shotgun when
Morris was returning to his vehicle after a confrontation.
The incident took place just across the street from St. Louis Catholic School, which was briefly placed
on lockdown as a precaution.
In court Monday, Kelsey noted the receipt of a report from an evaluator at the Court Diagnostic and
Treatment Center, Toledo, indicating Boyer was incompetent to proceed further with the case.
Prosecuting attorney Gwen Howe-Gebers, however, said the state would be seeking a second opinion in the
case. She argued the report notes Boyer made "some delusional statements" but does not specify
what they were; further, the incompetence determination seemed to be based on issues including that
Boyer did not answer the evaluator’s questions.
"The state is dissatisfied," said Howe-Gebers.
She asked that Boyer be taken to Twin Valley Behavioral Healthcare, Columbus, for a further evaluation.

Boyer’s attorney, William Stephenson, agreed that the state had a right to a second opinion, but asked
that it be done at the Court Diagnostic and Treatment Center, albeit by another evaluator. He said that
this was the first time he was aware of that the particular doctor involved in Boyer’s evaluation had
deemed anyone incompetent.
Kelsey ruled that Boyer be referred to Twin Valley.
Boyer, shackled and dressed in a simple navy blue sweatshirt and sweatpants, looked to be calm throughout
the proceeding, even appearing to chat amiably with another inmate in the courtroom while both waited
for their cases to go on the record.
The next court date in the matter is to be set after the new report is released. Boyer could be at Twin
Valley for 30 days after admittance.