CENTREVILLE – The preliminary hearing of a Colon man has been put on hold so a competency hearing can take place.

Tuesday afternoon St. Joseph County District Court Judge Jeffrey Middleton ordered the competency hearing for 19 year old Ethan Dingman.

The motion was made by St. Joseph County Prosecutor John McDonough who said through their investigation, it was discovered that Dingman has a substantial mental history and some behaviors that were occurring before this incident.

Dingman is charged with Homicide in the death of 55 year old Todd Schwartz, who was found November 21 in a detached garage behind Illusions Hair Care Salon on South Blackstone Avenue in Colon.

During their investigation, authorities determined Schwartz and Dingman knew each other and that Dingman had been living with Schwartz for several months.

Middleton says the evaluation should be done, which means the preliminary hearing is put on hold. If the evaluation shows Dingman is competent, then the preliminary hearing will be held. If it shows he is not competent then the matter moves to the mental health system.

Dingman will be evaluated at the Center for Forensic Psychiatry in Grand Rapids. His bond was set at $500,000 and the preliminary hearing has been rescheduled for March 10.