For mentally ill stabbing suspect, treatment could last 30 years

Jan. 28--BLOOMINGTON -- A man deemed insane at the time he stabbed two men in downtown Bloomington in 2015 may be held in a state mental health facility for up to 30 years, a judge ruled Friday.

Jason Hopkins, 36, of Bloomington was in court for a determination on how long he may be placed in state custody for mental health treatment. In November, attempted murder charges were dismissed following an opinion from a psychiatrist that Hopkins was insane in August 2016 when he stabbed the men in random attacks.

Hopkins had a history of mental illness dating back at least 20 years before his arrest in the knife attacks. In 2005, he was sentenced to five years in prison for setting fire to his apartment in a transitional housing complex in Bloomington.

The 30-year limit for treatment is based on the maximum sentence Hopkins would have faced if he were convicted on the criminal charges.

At a sentencing hearing on the 2005 arson charges, a former psychiatrist with the McLean County Center for Human Services who treated Hopkins testified that the arson was directly linked to Hopkins' schizophrenic condition.

In imposing the prison term in 2005, Judge Scott Drazewski noted that an evaluation found Hopkins mentally fit to stand trial on the charges. With a history of arson -- Hopkins also set fires at a group home -- options were limited in the community for the mentally ill man, said the judge.

After his release from prison, Hopkins received some supervision from his mother, Anita Jumper, until her arrest in 2015 on arson charges. Jumper was recently deemed mentally unfit to stand trial and a decision to dismiss charges based on her condition is expected next month.

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