More than a year after he was admitted to the Lincoln Regional Center, the man accused in the 2021 killing of a Creighton baseball administrator has been deemed competent to stand trial.
On Wednesday, Douglas County District Court Judge Horacio Wheelock ruled that Ladell Thornton, 45, is competent to stand trial on charges of first-degree murder, use of a firearm to commit a felony and felon in possession of a firearm. Thornton is accused of the September 2021 killing of 37-year-old Christopher Gradoville.
Gradoville, a Creighton baseball administrator and former player on the team, arrived at Thornton’s rental home on the morning of Sept. 30, 2021. Police said at the time that Gradoville had recently flipped the home before selling it to a realty company, who then rented the home to Thornton.
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That morning, Gradoville was at the home to replace a toilet. According to testimony from detectives at Thornton’s preliminary hearing, a doorbell camera showed Gradoville walking up to the home with a large cardboard box before a total of 25 gunshots rang out.
Thornton is accused of chasing Gradoville around the home as he attempted to flee the gunshots. Gradoville was shot 20 times.
Concerns about Thornton’s mental status were present from the beginning of the case. In March 2022, Thornton sent a letter to Wheelock claiming that he was God and the court’s jurisdiction doesn’t apply to him.
“I as in (God) will not accept any plea deal/plea bargain ‘insanity’ etc,” Thornton wrote in the letter. “The only thing I can and will accept is what is owed to me (LIBERTY.)”
Thornton was found to be incompetent to stand trial in June 2022 and was admitted to the Lincoln Regional Center, one of two state psychiatric hospitals.
In subsequent hearings in March and May of this year, Thornton was found to still be incompetent to stand trial. On May 3, prosecutors filed a motion to allow staff at the hospital to involuntarily medicate Thornton.
On Wednesday, after considering an evaluation by doctors, Wheelock determined that Thornton’s competency has been restored and he is fit to stand trial. He will appear back in court in September.
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