Judge stops accused Tri-Cities murderer from pleading guilty over mental health concerns

An accused Tri-Cities murderer was prevented from entering a guilty plea this week after a judge stopped him because of mental health concerns.

It would have been his second attempt to plead guilty before a judge questioned if he was competent.

Now, Anthony T. Spearman, 41, was ordered to undergo another mental health evaluation. It’s his second in less than a year.

Spearman was initially facing up to 17 years in prison for shooting 65-year-old Leonard Slack Jr. inside a Kennewick apartment in 2021.

Since withdrawing his guilty plea to manslaughter because of a paperwork problem, Spearman’s trial was derailed because of his concerning behavior.

Then, he was in the process of pleading guilty to second-degree murder on Wednesday, when Judge Jackie Shea Brown asked him whether he wanted to give up his right to go to trial.

Spearman responded by saying that the “voices” in his head told him to plead guilty.

The statement brought the hearing to a stop while Spearman’s defense attorney, Nicholas Blount, spoke with him.

“I have serious concerns about my client’s ability to proceed,” Blount said, then asked for another competency evaluation.

Deputy Prosecutor Kristin McRoberts expressed frustration with the continuing delays in the case and was concerned that Spearman is faking the mental illness.

“It seems like every time he comes to court, he’s suddenly lethargic and saying he can hear voices,” McRoberts said. “I feel at the mercy of the defendant’s actions in court. The state is extremely concerned that this is going to be a pattern.”

A previous psychiatric evaluation concluded that Spearman suffers from a mental illness, but was still capable of assisting in his own defense.

Judge Brown ordered another evaluation. This one will be at the jail, and they’re hoping for a shorter turnaround for the results.

“My goal is to not have the trial delayed much after the report,” she said.

Hood Avenue shooting

Slack went to a neighbor’s door asking for help in August 2021, but didn’t get an immediate response.

Afterward the neighbor spotted a man wearing all black and a baseball cap running down the stairs away from the apartment and then heard Slack yelling for help. He found Slack bleeding from gunshot wounds to the forearm and stomach and called 911.

When officers arrived, they found Slack on the floor with a bronze revolver underneath him and furniture flipped over. Slack said Spearman shot him, court documents said.

He was taken to Trios Southridge Hospital in Kennewick where he again named Spearman as his attacker and claimed he was trying to rob him.

Slack died two days later of injuries that doctors at Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center found were much worse than initially believed.

Days later Spearman was arrested at the Thunderbird Motel in Pasco. He initially pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was facing 13 to 17 years in prison.

A paperwork problem allowed him to take back his guilty plea, which he did in June 2023.

Then, a trial that started in August 2023 was stopped after a judge grew concerned about Spearman’s competency.

Mental health competency

After the trial was canceled, Spearman was sent to Eastern State Hospital for a 15-day psychiatric stay. He had no history of mental illness, though he had been treated for opioid, stimulant and cannabis addictions.

Hyemin Jeon, a forensic evaluator, found in an Oct. 15 report that Spearman had adjustment disorder, which is a condition when someone has behavioral or emotional changes because of stress. In this case, it’s believed to have been triggered by his jail stay.

In an interview with a psychiatrist, he said he had been hearing voices for about two months. He also told staff he had trouble sleeping and was depressed. His psychiatrist found no symptoms of a psychosis.

“During intake, he reported hearing voices, but they were more related to his own thoughts,” according to the report. “He appears somewhat depressed because of his ongoing legal predicament; however, his depressive mood does not appear to interfere with his current functioning.”

The evaluator didn’t believe that Spearman was faking symptoms of mental illness.

She found in the report that he understood the court proceedings and could help his attorney.