DETROIT (WXYZ) — In the weeks before he would be charged with the murder of a Detroit Chipotle employee downtown, Devon Watson fell off the grid of the mental health system designed to keep him well.
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Wayne County Probate Court officials say they were never notified that Watson was supposed to be receiving mental health treatment following an August hospital discharge, meaning they could not track his progress or take action if he’d gotten worse.
“This notification is the vehicle we have to make sure that people have warm handoffs from one agency to the next,” said retired Wayne County Probate Judge Milton Mack, who reviewed Watson’s public probate file. “We’re really the only entity that can track that.”
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As 7 News Detroit first reported Monday, Watson had been ordered by a judge to receive up to 60 days of hospitalization after being brought to an emergency room in July “for acting out at a coffee shop.”
A nurse said Watson was “not making sense” and “appears psychotic” and a doctor diagnosed him with acute psychosis.
Watson was ordered to receive up to 180 days of treatment starting with hospitalization at Havenwyck Hospital to stabilize him, and then with a community mental health provider to help with his recovery.
That provider was Central City Health in Detroit, who was required by statute to notify the court of a treatment plan to ensure that steps were being taken to keep Watson well.
“That way we know that process is underway and the person is engaged in treatment,” Mack said. “It also enables us to know if there’s trouble.”
Because there is no record that Central City notified the court of Watson’s treatment plan, Mack said, they could track whether or not he was in compliance with the court order.
Central City Health did not respond to questions regarding Watson’s treatment plan, or whether he had received any treatment after being discharged from Havenwyck Hospital.
There is reason to question if Watson ever received any treatment after discharge.
Behavioral health sources say there is no record the provider made attempts to arrange treatment for Watson. Had court officials learned that Central City was struggling to connect the 42-year-old with treatment, it could have taken action.
“Because at that point, the court can intervene again and have the person hospitalized possibly. It helps maintain control of the situation,” Mack said.
Instead, the court had no reason to keep an eye on Watson, because it had not been notified he’d been discharged by the hospital.
That made it easier for Watson to fly under the radar for the last month, until he was arrested by Detroit Police Sunday and is now charged with murder.
Contact 7 Investigator Ross Jones at ross.jones@wxyz.com or at (248) 827-9466.