Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette Houghton County Prosecutor Dan Helmer speaks in a videoconference with defendant Evan Dixon, defense attorney Karl Numinen and Judge Anna Talaska during a competency hearing Friday. Dixon was found competent to stand trial for the November murder of Theron Duncan.

HOUGHTON — The Hancock man charged in a fatal shooting in downtown Houghton in November was ruled competent to stand trial in 97th District Court Friday.

Evan Dixon, 60, appeared in 97th District Court via videoconference for Friday’s hearing. He underwent an evaluation at the State Center for Forensic Psychiatry.

Houghton County Prosecutor Dan Helmer and Dixon’s attorney, Karl Numinen, agreed the report demonstrates Dixon’s competency.

“I have some continuing concerns about Mr. Dixon,” Numinen said. “But as I read this report, I don’t believe that they rise to the level of a finding of not competent. I think that, frankly, being locked up as long as he has has led to a certain level of frustration.”

Dixon has been in jail since Nov. 17, when he was arrested in connection with the murder of Theron Duncan, 53, of Houghton at the Douglass House Saloon.

He is charged with first-degree murder-premeditated, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, and felony firearms, punishable by up to two years in prison.

Dixon was not ordered to stay on medication to maintain his competency. During Friday’s hearing, he indicated he had been prescribed anything since he had been in custody. He had taken antidepressants prior to November, Numinen said.

The defense had also requested a criminal responsibility evaluation. The forensic center has indicated it is still working on that evaluation, which usually takes longer, said Judge Anna Talaska.

Numinen and Helmer plan to have a probable cause conference to sort out scheduling and other issues, including the return of some of Dixon’s property that had been seized in a search warrant.

June 28, which had been set aside for a review hearing in Dixon’s case, will instead be set aside for a preliminary hearing.