A 34-year-old homeless man was found incompetent to stand trial on charges that he stole a car in December with a baby in the back seat and left the baby in his car seat outside of a Maplewood apartment building.
District Judge Gail Chang Bohr decided Tuesday that Brandon Joseph Houge was not mentally competent to aid in his defense on the charges of kidnapping and motor vehicle theft. He now will be referred for a civil commitment proceeding.
The case sparked an Amber Alert for 11-month-old Ayden Hoang when his family's car was stolen three days before Christmas. Duy Hoang, Ayden's father, left him in the car outside their St. Paul home, on the 2100 block of Magnolia Street, as he went into the house to retrieve something. Hoang came back to find the car was stolen about 8:30 p.m., and Ayden was found about 10 p.m. outside of an apartment building nearly 7 miles away. The stolen car was found two blocks away.
According to the criminal complaint, a tipster told police that Houge had tried to sell the stolen car but said there was one small problem: "There is a baby in it."
Houge told police that he was high on methamphetamine when he stole the car and that he didn't realize there was a baby in the back seat until he had driven several blocks.
He said he left the car seat in an area out of the wind where he thought someone would find the baby.
Houge could return to criminal court to face his charges if his treatment is successful and he is ruled mentally competent.
LORA PABST
