A Villager has been found competent to stand trial after a SWAT standoff last year at her financially troubled home.
Jana Stafinsky, 53, continues to be held without bond following the nearly five-hour standoff Nov. 20 at her home at 2186 Broxton Place in the Village of Ashland.
A judge has found that Stafinsky is competent to stand trial, following an evaluation by a court-appointed professional. After reading his evaluation, Judge Mary Hatcher ruled that Stafinsky “meets the standards necessary to be competent to proceed.”
Prior to the standoff, during which Stafinsky pointed a gun at a deputy, Stafinsky was apparently under mounting financial pressure.
Her father purchased the home in 2004 for $140,700 and took out a new mortgage in 2021 with Freedom Mortgage. Jana Stafinsky assumed the mortgage at some point. It is unclear if her father is still alive. In a complaint filed in Sumter County Court, Freedom Mortgage claims that Stafinsky owes more than $200,000 and that no payments have been made since September.
Financial pressure led Stafinsky to seek a renter who began paying $1,000 per month to live in a room at the home. The renter had been suddenly ordered to leave and had gone to court in an effort to recover her possessions, which were still in the Stafinsky home. When a deputy showed up to serve Stafinsky with a court document, Stafinsky pointed a gun at him. The deputy immediately requested backup and Stafinsky barricaded herself in the home. A negotiator finally persuaded her to surrender several hours later.