A Bangor woman who is accused of threatening Sen. Susan Collins has been found competent to stand trial, after months of psychiatric treatment in Texas.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office charged Katrina Preble with two counts of interstate threatening for voicemails she allegedly left at the Republican senator’s offices in Bangor and Washington in November 2020.
Preble’s defense attorney requested a mental health evaluation, and court documents show that a doctor said Preble was suffering from mental illness that prohibited her from understanding the court proceedings. U.S. District Judge Lance Walker found her to be incompetent to stand trial and ordered her to receive treatment at a federal prison in Texas. The court received confidential status reports during her time there.
Preble then returned to Maine and appeared in the U.S. District Court in Bangor for another competency hearing Wednesday. Walker found that she could stand trial now, and she entered not guilty pleas to the two charges against her. If convicted, she could face up to five years in prison. The case could go to trial as soon as March.
Preble, who was 56 when she was arrested, is still in custody.
“The judge’s decision was well considered,” defense attorney Scott Hess said in an email. “We are pleased that the matter will be moving forward.”
A spokesperson said the U.S. Attorney’s Office would not speak about the case.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
