Bradenton Man Found Incompetent to Stand Trial After Stabbing Brother’s Girlfriend

A Bradenton man accused of repeatedly stabbing his brother’s girlfriend in August has been found incompetent to stand trial and ordered into mental health treatment.

Court records show that on Sept. 30, Manatee County Judge Frederick Mercurio ordered 21-year-old Dakota Hayes committed to a state mental health facility following a competency evaluation.

Deputies with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office responded to a home in the 5200 block of 60th Drive East on Aug. 12, where they found Hayes outside with two gunshot wounds. Investigators said his brother, 24-year-old Willie Hayes, told deputies he shot Dakota twice after witnessing him attack his girlfriend, 23-year-old Brenna Brooks.

Brooks sustained at least 11 stab wounds and was transported to Sarasota Memorial Hospital in critical condition. She later told investigators that Dakota Hayes had been fixated on her for years.

Initially charged with attempted murder, Hayes’s charges were upgraded on Sept. 2 to attempted first-degree premeditated murder. Authorities noted that Willie Hayes described his brother as having prior “episodes,” though he had not been violent before the attack.

Dakota Hayes will remain under state supervision at a treatment facility until he is deemed competent to proceed with trial.