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A former Marine accused of killing his mom's ex-boyfriend in 2005 won't face a jury anytime soon.
A judge on Thursday dismissed murder charges against Robert J.M. Talancon for the third time.
Talancon, 34, has been locked up in Eastern State Hospital. Despite lengthy treatment at the Medical Lake facility, he has failed to regain competency since a bout with fungal meningitis.
Talancon was not at Thursday's brief hearing.
Defense attorney Bob Thompson asked that the case be dropped given his client's condition. Benton County Prosecutor Andy Miller prepared a four-page order that detailed court actions through the case's history and findings on Talancon's competency and level of dangerousness.
Superior Court Judge Vic VanderSchoor signed the dismissal, saying it's necessary based on information from both lawyers.
Talancon will undergo another civil commitment hearing in Spokane County within the next month to keep him locked up indefinitely in a secure unit. If Eastern State Hospital makes any plans for a conditional release, it must first notify the court and all attorneys on the case.
There is no statute of limitations for murder, meaning prosecutors can refile if Talancon's competency is restored during his civil commitment.
Talancon was a resident of San Diego when he visited his ill mother in Kennewick in September 2005. That is when he reportedly learned that Darren C. Evans "beat her up constantly," according to court documents.
Evans, 44, was found dead Oct. 1, 2005, in an east Kennewick shed where he'd been staying for about six months. The property was owned by one of Talancon's relatives.
An autopsy showed Evans died two days earlier from multiple blows to his head.
In the meantime, Talancon was arrested by a Franklin County sheriff's deputy after he was seen trying to burn some clothes along the Pasco-Kahlotus highway.
Tips called in to Kennewick police said Talancon had talked about confronting Evans and "was asking people who he could get to beat up or kill Evans," documents said.
Talancon was charged Oct. 6, 2005, with first-degree murder. Just seven months later VanderSchoor ruled that Talancon was incompetent and ordered treatment.
The case was first dismissed without prejudice in March 2007 because Talancon was still incompetent to stand trial.
His condition improved in several months and Talancon was scheduled to be released to Kennewick in July 2007 and get counseling. Prosecutors quickly moved to vacate the dismissal, arrest Talancon and refile the charges.
But the case was again put on hold a month later over competency issues and dismissed in February 2008.
Miller had refiled the case in September after receiving a report from Eastern State Hospital that Talancon "no longer required in-patient psychiatric hospitalization."
An evaluation was ordered by the court later that month to determine his competency for trial.
State psychologist Daniel Lord-Flynn wrote in October that Talancon "does present a substantial danger to others and does present a substantial likelihood of committing criminal acts jeopardizing public safety or security" unless he remains in jail custody or institutionalized, according to court documents.
Lord-Flynn has been observing Talancon throughout his hospitalization over the past several years. He previously told the court that Talancon's severe brain damage is permanent and requires long-term intensive treatment.
"He has demonstrated tendencies toward impulsive behavior and poor judgment. He is susceptible to agitation and frustration," wrote Lord-Flynn in October as cited in court documents. "He has become a party to aggressive incidents in the time he has been at ESH. In one instance, he initiated aggression due to his perception that another person was being threatened and he attempted to protect the presumed victim."
"... There have been other instances in which his behavior toward other patients has been considered threatening," Lord-Flynn added. "Although he has not been physically aggressive toward staff, he has threatened staff verbally and assumed aggressive postures."
Then in a report submitted last month, Lord-Flynn stated that Talancon is still incompetent and that it's unlikely his competency will be restored, documents said.
A previous attorney for Talancon blamed the fungal meningitis on a series of anthrax vaccinations Talancon received years ago while in the military.
