He’s charged with aiming a loaded pistol at a Richland man. Now he wants to die in jail

Corrections officers and medical staff at the Benton County jail have been ordered to immediately intervene in the care of an inmate who is refusing to eat or drink.

Neal C. Lassila, 50, has been locked up since Nov. 29 for allegedly pointing a loaded gun at the head of his sister’s boyfriend.

Jail staff have been trying to treat him since Dec. 5 after finding out he’s turned away most of his food and beverages.

He already went to a Tri-City hospital earlier this week for intravenous treatment, but again refused to eat or drink once back in the jail, said Civil Deputy Prosecutor Ryan Lukson.

“Mr. Lassila has stated he wants to die by starvation and dehydration. He has refused medical care and assessment on multiple occasions,” jail Lt. Joshua Combs wrote in a court document.

Deputy Prosecutor Ryan Lukson, in his request for a court order, cited a state Supreme Court case that says jail and medical staffs can provide medication and artificial means of nutrition and hydration when an inmate is refusing to eat or drink and their health is immediately threatened.

“While a non-incarcerated individual has the right to refuse artificial means of nutrition and hydration, Washington courts have determined that that right is not absolute and compelling state interests may outweigh that right,” said Lukson’s motion.

It says those compelling interests include preserving his life and preventing suicide.

Benton County is currently facing a federal lawsuit for the death of a mentally ill teen who died in the jail after reportedly not eating or drinking.

The family of Marc A. Moreno has been paid $1.2 million by Benton County for his death, but now is going after the mental health and medical providers for allowing him to deteriorate and go untreated for over a week in 2016.

The coroner ruled that Moreno died from an irregular heartbeat and dehydration as a result of synthetic cannabis in his system.

The lawsuit blames his “profound dehydration” on prolonged fluid deprivation while confined, saying jail staff knew he wasn’t eating or drinking but did nothing about it. Moreno lost almost 40 pounds over the week he was in jail before his death.

In Lassila’s case, the order was signed Thursday by Superior Court Judge Cameron Mitchell, authorizing staff, along with Trios Southridge Hospital if necessary, to provide involuntary medical treatment. That includes hydration and nutrition “with use of all reasonable force deemed necessary.”

Lassila was in a wheelchair for unknown reasons during his first court appearance Dec. 3 after his arrest. At the time he told a defense attorney he was confused.

On Thursday, a listless Lassila again came into court in a wheelchair. He sat slumped to the side and did not look at the judge.

Lassila has two active cases and is being held on $250,000 bail.

In the most recent arrest, he’s charged with second-degree assault and two counts of illegal gun possession.

His second case dates to October 2017 with seven counts of illegally having a gun. He is a convicted felon with a history of burglary and several additional unlawful gun possessions.

Rebecca A. Lassila, his wife, also is charged with second-degree assault for the Nov. 28 incident involving her sister-in-law’s boyfriend. A judge previously granted her release without bail.

Prosecutors allege Rebecca Lassila hit Derek Krauser in the face with a club — like a baton or billy club — because she was tired of him verbally abusing her sister-in-law.

She told police that’s when her husband pulled out a pellet gun that looked like a Colt .45, court documents said.

Later, Richland police found a real Colt semiautomatic pistol, along with a Smith & Wesson Magnum revolver, four loaded magazines and ammunition, documents said.

Rebecca Lassila’s trial is set for Feb. 25.

Neal Lassila’s two cases were put on hold after his attorneys Thursday requested a competency evaluation.

An expert with Eastern State Hospital will complete the mental health exam in the Benton County jail. A update hearing is set Jan. 10.

Court documents state that while locked up for the past two weeks, Lassila “has voluntarily consumed a minimal amount of liquids and has repeatedly refused all efforts to encourage him to consume adequate amounts of fluids.”

He also has eaten a minimal amount of food, they said.

Melanie Menear, director of operations for NaphCare, the Kennewick jail’s medical provider, wrote in a Dec. 12 letter that Lassila is being housed in an observation cell.

She said medical staff have been actively trying to monitor his vital signs and offer treatment.

Over a five-day period, his vital signs have indicated potential dehydration, his blood pressure has dropped and his heart rate has significantly increased. He is at a much higher risk of suffering acute kidney damage and potentially death, Menear wrote.

Lassila will only participate in partial assessments, often exercising his constitutional right to refuse medical treatment, she continued.

He won’t give his arm, hand or finger to the nursing staff when trying to check vital signs, has not allowed them to take his temperature, and won’t roll over in bed, make eye contact or come to the door to talk.

Menear said on Wednesday she offered an electrolyte drink, IV fluids and lab tests to Lassila to confirm his kidneys are functioning appropriately. He refused all care, telling the registered nurse, “I will be fine.”

“While the evidence supports that human body can survive for up to six weeks without adequate hydration before death is inevitable, electrolyte imbalances from severe dehydration can bring about a plethora of other medical catastrophes that can be avoided with adequate, and regular hydration,” Menear wrote. “At minimum, as the jail’s medical provider, we need to be concerned for the health and safety of this individual while he is in our care.”

This story was originally published December 14, 2018 at 12:49 PM.