Howard County prosecutors have dropped all charges against an 88-year-old man suffering from dementia whose altercation Aug. 17 with a fellow resident of an assisted-living facility led to the other man's death.

Circuit Judge Louis Becker III ruled Friday that Earl Wilder is not competent to stand trial.

An examination by a state forensic psychiatrist led Assistant State's Attorney Danielle Duclaux to concur with the opinion of Wilder's attorney, Lara Weathersbee, who said her client is unable to assist in his own defense. Duclaux agreed, saying that Wilder is "not restorable."

Wilder was charged with manslaughter and first- and second-degree assault in the death of James W. Brown. Wilder, a former amateur boxer, left his wheelchair and attacked Brown with his fists as Brown sat on a bench outside Harmony Hall in Columbia.

Brown, 91, died five days later in a hospice facility of injuries suffered in the attack. An autopsy determined that Brown's death was caused by head trauma.