Mental health evaluation ordered for Richland Fred Meyer murder suspect

The suspect in the deadly shooting at Richland’s Fred Meyer store has been ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation.

The request was made Wednesday by Aaron Christopher Kelly’s defense lawyers.

It means his murder case in Benton County Superior Court will be on hold until a judge determines whether Kelly is competent to proceed to trial.

Wednesday was Kelly’s second time appearing in court for the Feb. 7 encounter that ended up with Instacart shopper Justin Krumbah dead and Fred Meyer employee Mark A. Hill critically wounded.

Two relatives of one of the victims were in court for the hearing.

Kelly, 39, has not yet entered a plea to charges of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder.

Both felony counts include firearm enhancements, which will add time to his prison sentence if he’s convicted as charged.

Objected to handcuffs

Prosecutor Andy Miller said the defense told him before the start of Wednesday’s hearing that Kelly did not agree to being shackled in the courtroom and wanted a hearing on his individual rights.

As Miller and defense lawyer Karla Kane Hudson argued the issue in the courtroom, Kelly and his other court-appointed lawyer, Michael Vander Sys, sat in an inmate holding room and participated virtually through a laptop.

Miller revealed that one to two hours after the shooting, Kelly drove to Walla Walla and went to a branch of his Tri-Cities bank and “essentially emptied his bank account.”

Investigators don’t know “exactly what he did during the time period after the alleged murder and the time he was arrested, but he certainly had incentive to get out of the Tri-Cities and evade law enforcement officers that he knew were looking for him,” said Miller.

Kelly was arrested about 11 hours after the shooting while driving on Interstate 90 near Sprague in Eastern Washington.

He was cooperative when stopped and contacted by officers on the freeway, said Miller.

In the end, Judge Joe Burrowes cited case law in granting the prosecution’s motion that Kelly remain in handcuffs and leg shackles for the hearing.

Burrowes noted that while shackles may be “inherently prejudicial,” they may be necessary in some circumstances to prevent injury to others in the courtroom, disorderly conduct at a trial or an escape.

He said the corrections officers were understaffed with only two in the room — along with the court bailiff — to provide security for everyone, and pointed out the seriousness of the charges against Kelly.

Kane Hudson reiterated that they objected to the ruling, saying her client’s constitutional right’s should not be minimized or violated.

Kelly and his attorneys can revisit the issue in future hearings.

His next scheduled court date is April 20 to check on the status of his competency evaluation through Eastern State Hospital in Medical Lake.

Emptied bank account

The Pasco man is accused of walking into Fred Meyer on Wellsian Way about 11 a.m. Feb. 7 and having a brief conversation with Krumbah in a store aisle before pulling out a gun and shooting the shopper several times.

Kelly then shot Hill near the customer service desk and wandered briefly in the store before leaving through the north doors, according to court documents.

He spent less than seven minutes inside the store, which was filled with Monday morning shoppers at the time, documents said.

Krumbah, 38, died from his wounds despite efforts by the first officers on scene to save him.

Hill, a 56-year-old employee, was carried out of the store to waiting paramedics. He has since undergone at least two surgeries at Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland after he was hit by three bullets, according to loved ones.

An update posted Sunday to a GoFundMe account for Hill said he is no longer needing supplemental oxygen and his vital signs remain stable, though he now has pneumonia, blood clots in one leg and difficulty sleeping.

Fred Meyer was closed for nearly two weeks to give employees some time to heal and allow for a store remodel. It re-opened its doors on Sunday with heightened security.

This story was originally published February 24, 2022 at 5:00 AM.