Benton County judge orders psychiatric hospital to admit shooting suspect ahead of others

The suspect in a Whitstran near-fatal shooting who is awaiting a bed in a state psychiatric hospital needs to be bumped to the top of the waiting list so his competency can be restored, a judge said.

Lucio Reyes Perez’s case has been on hold since Sept. 8, when Benton County Judge Bruce Spanner ruled the suspect needs mental health treatment.

On Tuesday, Spanner learned that Eastern State Hospital did not receive the order until late September and now Perez is looking at a 15-week wait.

So Spanner signed a defense request telling the Medical Lake facility it had seven days to make arrangements for Perez’s transportation and to admit him.

Perez, 66, was still in the Benton County jail as of Friday evening, three days after the court hearing.

The state facility previously told attorneys on the Benton County Superior Court case that Perez was No. 31 on the wait list, with approximately two beds becoming available per week. The facility’s Forensic Services Unit has 25 beds total for all of Eastern Washington.

That lengthy delay was not acceptable to defense attorney Alexandria Sheridan, who asked Spanner to impose the seven-day deadline.

“Simply put, this violates my client’s due process rights,” she said.

Deputy Prosecutor Megan Whitmire agreed with the defense, saying “it’s been a well-known problem for quite some time” regarding the facility not admitting defendants in a timely fashion.

However, Whitmire didn’t think there was a legal basis for the order and noted it would just end up knocking other deserving people off the list, she said.

Spanner granted the order because the state has the obligation to provide Perez with due process, he said.

“I guess my feeling is that if the state of Washington wants to prosecute those persons for which competency needs to be restored, the state of Washington needs to restore their rights in a timely manner,” he said. “If the Legislature won’t authorize sufficient funds (for Eastern State Hospital), then it is up to the state of Washington to reallocate that.”

Spanner is certain the Attorney General’s Office, which represents Eastern State Hospital, will make a motion for reconsideration, he said, adding the court will deal with that if and when it comes.

Perez is charged with attempted first-degree murder. The charge involves premeditated intent and includes the allegation he committed the felony while armed with a gun.

He’s held on $500,000 bail.

Perez and the victim, Guillermo Salas-Lozano, were acquaintances. Perez knew it was the victim’s routine to stop by the store every day about 5:30 a.m., according to sheriff’s officials and court documents.

Perez allegedly told deputies that he was angry with Salas-Lozano and had been planning to kill him for about two months.

So on the morning of June 19, Perez grabbed his .22-caliber handgun and waited outside the Rothrock Road market, which is northeast of Prosser, documents said.

When the victim arrived, Perez allegedly yelled at Salas-Lozano, called him a derogatory term and then fired two shots at him.

Perez was identified by witnesses, and was found at a nearby home.

Law enforcement recovered the gun used in the shooting after Perez told them where he left it.

Salas-Lozano, who was 34 at the time, was hit in the neck by one bullet as he entered the store. He was flown to Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center for treatment.

This story was originally published October 24, 2015 at 10:37 PM with the headline "Benton County judge orders psychiatric hospital to admit shooting suspect ahead of others."