PORT ANGELES — A man accused of barricading himself into a Carlsborg residence and firing at law enforcement in a standoff last month will remain in the custody of the state Department of Social and Health Services at Western State Hospital to determine if he is fit to stand trial.
Clallam County Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Stanley signed a 90-day restoration order on Monday for Justin Cox, 37, to undergo treatment to restore his competency in order to be prosecuted. Stanley set his next court date for 1 p.m. Sept. 26.
Cox faces six counts of first-degree assault and one count of second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, resisting arrest, obstructing law enforcement, felony malicious mischief and felony harassment.
Cox’s original competency hearing date on Thursday was pushed to Monday because the court had not yet received an evaluation report from Western State Hospital. The report had not arrived by Monday’s 9 a.m. hearing. However, Clallam County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Michele Devlin and Cox’s public defender, Alex Stalker, agreed to request the restoration order after speaking by phone with Barry Ward, a psychologist and forensic evaluator at the hospital.
Ward said Cox’s competency was likely to be restored, Devlin told Stanley, but that at this point, he is unable to assist in his own defense or understand the proceedings against him.
During the June 17 incident, Cox allegedly shot an armored vehicle at the scene and threatened to kill a Clallam County deputy. According to the arrest report, Cox said his name was “Jesus” and that Yahweh spoke through him.
After being taken into custody, Cox was transported to Olympic Medical Center, where he had to be sedated after becoming belligerent. When he was discharged, deputies had to carry and force him into the back of a patrol car when he fell to his knees and refused walk.
Cox did not attend his initial court hearings on June 18 or June 20 because he would not to leave his jail cell, saying that he only answered to “Yahweh.”
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Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached by email at paula.hunt@peninsuladailynews.com.
