SEQUIM — Animal cruelty and trespassing charges against a Sequim man have been dropped because he was found unfit to stand trial.
John Dashti — age 60, according to court documents — had been charged with two counts of animal cruelty in the second degree, both misdemeanors.
Livestock in his care were confiscated from his home at Serenity Lane and Otter Way southwest of Sequim in late June. Dashti was charged July 31. He pleaded not guilty.
In a separate case, he was charged with two counts of criminal trespass in the second degree, also misdemeanors. Deputies said he was squatting on private property after he was evicted.
In late October, Dashti was ordered to undergo a mental evaluation before a trial date would be considered. He was incarcerated at the time. He has since been released.
In November, he was deemed incompetent to stand trial by an evaluator based at Western State Hospital in Lakewood — one of two state hospitals that provide mental evaluations for those in the court system — Kristina Nelson-Gross, Clallam County civil deputy prosecuting attorney, said in an email.
The evaluation was filed Nov. 10. Charges were dismissed without prejudice Nov. 20.
The charges could be refiled if Dashti is found to be capable of standing trial in the future, according to state law.
When a judge has reason to doubt a defendant’s competency, the state Department of Social and Health Services is required to provide competency evaluations, according to Disability Rights Washington, a nonprofit organization based in Seattle.
Both Washington state and federal law prohibit the criminal prosecution of people who are not competent to stand trial, meaning they do not understand the charges against them or are unable to aid in their own defense.
The evaluation deemed this was the case with Dashti.
“Because his charges do not fall under the ‘serious offenses’ definition, which would be subject to a rehabilitation period,” the charges were dismissed, Nelson-Gross said.
And although Dashti has been “deemed incompetent for prosecution purposes, that does not allow him to violate the law,” Nelson-Gross noted.
She said the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office is monitoring the situation.
Dashti has said he is now living in Sequim.
In late June, law enforcement officials confiscated nearly all of Dashti’s livestock — two donkeys, two sheep, two pigs, a dog, 12 rabbits, various chickens and about 50 quail.
The animals, 74 in total, were seized because of parasitic load, malnourishment, lack of basic care and unsanitary conditions, Brian King, chief criminal deputy for the sheriff’s office, has said.
On Sept. 15, deputies visited Dashti where he was apparently squatting on a county roadway after being evicted from his home and reportedly observed him trespassing on private property nearby.
Dashti was cited for criminal trespass in the second degree and released.
On Oct. 2, District Judge Rick Porter ordered Dashti to stay off the property he had allegedly trespassed on, which is owned by Bernard Flath.
Dashti pleaded not guilty to the trespassing charge and was released.
That night, deputies who returned to the county roadway said they observed Dashti once more on Flath’s land.
They arrested him on a second charge of trespass in the second degree and booked him into jail.
He pleaded not guilty to the second trespassing charge Oct. 5.
The animals seized from Dashti’s former residence in early October were turned over to the custody of Center Valley Animal Rescue in Quilcene, which has put them up for public adoption.
The animals have all made full recoveries, Sara Penhallegon, shelter director, said Wednesday.
“Everyone is 100 percent healthy and ready for adoption,” she said.
While a few of the animals, including a Newfoundland working dog, have been placed in new homes, many more remain to be adopted, Penhallegon said.
“We have a lot of them still,” she said.
About 21 quail, three goats, two sheep, two donkeys, two pigs, four hens, a rooster and 20 rabbits remain to be adopted, she said.
All the animals, if old enough, have been spayed or neutered, she said.
“I am hoping the donkeys,” named Laverne and Shirley after the 1970s-era TV show, “will be leaving us soon,” she said.
She also is searching for a home for the two pigs, named Lucy and Ethel, which are hard to accommodate at the shelter.
“They are full-sized farm pigs and obviously need to go to a home where they are not going to be eaten,” she said.
“They are really nice pigs. Our volunteers just love them. I wish we had a better place for them, but they are active adult pigs.”
For information about adopting animals, contact the center at 360-765-0598 or visit www.centervalleyanimalrescue.org.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Chris McDaniel can be reached at 360-681-2390, ext. 5052, or cmcdaniel@peninsuladailynews.com.
