Suspect ruled incompetent

LARGO -- A man accused of decapitating his ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend with a machete last month has been found mentally incompetent to stand trial on a first-degree murder charge.

Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Mark Shames declared Dennis George Roache incompetent on Wednesday and ordered him to undergo treatment at a secure facility until he is again able to understand the charges against him.

Three court-appointed psychiatrists examined Roache and found him incompetent.

A review of Roache's competency is scheduled for Sept. 19.

In two previous criminal cases and a traffic case, Roache, 34, had been found mentally incompetent, which meant the cases were halted until he could receive treatment.

Gregory Shannon was in bed at his girlfriend's house in St. Petersburg's Childs Park neighborhood when Roache broke in through a window and beheaded the 18-year-old with a machete, police said.

Roache had dated Shannon's girlfriend, Monique Pennywell, 29, and he was angry because Shannon was dating her, police said.

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