A Rifle man accused of using a handgun to forcefully enter a Silt foster home pleaded not guilty by insanity and mental condition Thursday in Garfield County District Court.

Janvier Pinkard, 36, faces several felonies, including menacing, first-degree burglary, criminal intent first-degree kidnapping, felon in possession of a weapon and intimidation of a victim, among other charges.

Pinkard was initially given an opportunity to make a plea in late October. His defense, however, argued to District Court Judge Denise Lynch a plea of not guilty by insanity lacked definition, and that Pinkard needed more time to consider the plea.

On Thursday, public defender Elise Meyer, Pinkard’s attorney, said Pinkard also now wanted to temporarily discontinue services with the public defender’s office and represent himself in order to personally review evidence, a request that Lynch immediately denied.

“(Pinkard has) some conflict with counsel about certain pieces of evidence,” Meyer said. “And, specifically, he wants us to do certain work relevant to certain pieces of evidence, and it is our position that we are not going to do that.”

Lynch, who accepted Pinkard’s plea, ordered Pinkard to be examined by one or more psychiatrists to determine whether Pinkard was incapable of distinguishing “right from wrong” at the time of the home invasion. The evaluation could possibly include the use of narcoanalysis and a polygraph examination, Lynch said.

“The other test that the evaluator will have to use is that you suffered from a condition of your mind caused by a mental disease or defect that prevented you from forming the mental state that’s an essential element of the crime,” Lynch said.

Pinkard was originally arrested by the Silt Police Department on Dec. 20, 2020, after being suspected of pointing the gun at the foster mother, Annette Kapturkiewicz, and demanding to see a safe where child pornography was supposedly stored, according to court records.

No child pornography was found.

After Pinkard’s arrest the next day, Garfield County deputies discovered a combined 33 grams of meth and methylendioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) on PInkard’s person.

Pinkard is scheduled for a review hearing at 10:30 a.m. Feb. 17.

Reporter Ray K. Erku can be reached at 612-423-5273 or rerku@postindependent.com.