COLONIAL HEIGHTS, Va. -- The father of two children critically burned in a house fire in Colonial Heights was ruled incompetent to stand trial at this time.
He faces charges related to the fire, including abuse of a child disregard for life, cruelty to a child, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Joshua Cabaniss and Cierra Pitts, the children’s mother, were indicted by a grand jury in September, and face nine charges.
The couple’s three children and their grandmother were inside the family's Covington Road home when the fire started on May 15.
Their five-year-old son escaped, while a bystander rescued the grandmother.
The other two children, ages one and two, were rescued by first responders and brought to VCU’s burn center with third- and fourth-degree burns.
Colonial Heights Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Noelle Nochisaki said an evaluation received by the expert appointed to complete Cabaniss’s competency evaluation led to the decision to rule him incompetent to stand trial at this time.
Cabaniss “was ordered to complete outpatient restoration services through Riverside Regional Jail. A restoration review hearing will be held on March 5, 2024, at 9:00 a.m.” Nochisaki wrote in an email.
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