Judge Orders Competency Evaluation for Port Angeles Woman Charged With Assaulting Officer

A Port Angeles woman charged with assaulting a police officer during a Wednesday welfare check will undergo a mental competency evaluation before her criminal cases move forward, a Clallam County Superior Court judge ordered Friday.

Deanna L. Long, 41, appeared in custody Friday afternoon before Judge Brent Basden for what was scheduled as her arraignment on two cases. 

Instead of taking a plea, the court granted a competency evaluation and set a new hearing date, according to the court minutes.

In a written order signed Friday, the court found there is "a genuine doubt" as to Long's competency, based on facts provided by counsel, judicial colloquy and/or direct observation, and cited an affidavit filed in support of the motion. 

The order was entered under RCW 10.77.060, the state law governing competency evaluations, and covers both of Long's pending cases.

The Evaluation

Under Friday's order, Long will be evaluated by a qualified expert designated by the state Department of Social and Health Services. The examination will take place at the Clallam County jail, where Long is being held.

The order requires that Long be evaluated in jail and that the evaluation report be distributed within 14 days of receipt of the order or 21 days from its signing, whichever is shorter. 

The evaluator is to distribute the report to the court, the prosecuting attorney, the defense attorney, the designated crisis responder and the professional person at the jail. 

The report must include a description of the nature of the evaluation, a diagnosis or description of Long's current mental status and, if she suffers from a mental disease or defect, an opinion as to her competency.

The order grants the evaluator access to mental health, medical, educational and correctional records relating to Long's condition, and directs that any records requested be provided within two days.

A defense expert may also be appointed, and the order directs DSHS to contact Long's attorney to determine whether an appointed expert will witness the evaluation.

Proceedings on Hold

The order stays the criminal proceedings while the evaluation is pending. All time from the entry of the order until the court finds Long competent to proceed is excluded from the speedy trial calculation, and all previously established court dates were stricken.

Long has not entered a plea in either case.

The order lists the felony charges against Long as third-degree assault and second-degree theft, identifying the highest charge as a Class C felony. 

In the case filed Thursday, Long is charged with third-degree assault of a law enforcement officer, along with obstructing a law enforcement officer, a gross misdemeanor, and resisting arrest, a misdemeanor. 

She was also before the court this week on a bench warrant in a separate, earlier case.

The assault charge stems from a Wednesday evening welfare check near Seventh and Laurel streets. 

According to the probable cause narrative filed by Port Angeles police, officers arrested Long on a confirmed felony warrant, carried her to a patrol car after she would not walk, and reported that she kicked an officer in the stomach as she was placed in the back seat.

A review hearing on Long's competency is set for 9 a.m. July 31.