Judge grants psychiatric evaluation for alleged synagogue arsonist

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - A federal judge has ordered a psychiatric evaluation for the man accused of burning a North Jackson synagogue.

On Tuesday, Magistrate Judge LaKeysha Greer Isaac granted a motion from an attorney for Stephen Spencer Pittman for an evaluation to determine whether he is competent to stand trial.

The order comes just days after Pittman’s attorney requested the examination, saying, “Defense counsel believes that the defendant may currently be suffering from an undefined mental disease. As such, the defense counsel believes this undefined mental disease makes the defendant unable to understand the nature of the proceedings against him or participate in possible plea negotiations nor accept any current plea offer made by the government in this matter.”

[READ: New trial date set for accused Beth Israel arsonist]

Pittman was indicted earlier this year after he allegedly broke into the Beth Israel Congregation building on Old Canton Road, doused it in gasoline and set it on fire.

The building has since been entirely gutted for renovations.

Pittman, a former Coahoma Community College baseball player, is being held at the Forest County Jail without bond.

Greer Isaac said the evaluation is to be conducted at a “suitable United States Federal Bureau facility” and that copies of the evaluation are to be provided to the court and counsel for review.

The report, according to the judge, is required to include “the defendant’s history and present symptoms; a description of the mental health examination tests that were administered and their results; the examiner’s findings; the examiner’s opinions as to diagnosis, prognosis, and whether the defendant is suffering from a mental disease or defect rendering him mentally incompetent.”

[READ: ‘We’re still standing’: Beth Israel congregation vows to rebuild after arson attack]

Pittman also is asking that the court consolidate and dismiss certain counts against them, calling the second federal indictment against him “multiplicitous.”

A federal grand jury indicted the teen on one count of arson on January 13, 2026, days after the fire at Beth Israel.

He was re-indicted on three counts about a month later. Those counts include arson, damage to religious property by use of fire, and use of fire to commit any felony, all three in violation of federal law.

Attorney Michael Scott is asking that the court dismiss either count two or count three of the case, saying that count three stems from the second count.

[READ: ‘We are welcome here’: Beth Israel members react to outpouring of support following attack]

“Count two charges that Mr. Pittman committed a violation [of federal law] by using fire to deface, damage, and destroy religious real property... Count three charges that Mr. Pittman committed a violation... by using fire to commit count two,” Scott wrote. “Because count three necessarily incorporates each element of count two, ‘the statutes define the same offense.”

“If a jury were to find Mr. Pittman guilty of arson and destroying religious property by means of fire, it would necessarily find that Mr. Pittman used fire to damage a religious property,” he added. “This court should compel the government to elect between counts two and three, and to dismiss the remaining count.”

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