Suspect in Kennewick great-grandmother’s kidnapping to get second competency evaluation

A 16-year-old boy accused of driving to Oregon with his great-grandmother in the trunk of a car will undergo a second mental health evaluation.

Judge Alex Ekstrom has granted the defense request for an independent evaluation of Dyllan K. Martin.

The Kennewick teen’s Benton County Superior Court case has been on hold since mid-December when defense attorney Alexandria Sheridan first raised questions about her client’s competency.

Martin already was evaluated by the state Department of Social and Health Services’ Child Study & Treatment Center.

A report with Martin’s diagnosis by the Lakewood psychiatric facility, which treats juveniles, has been sealed by the court.

He is charged with first-degree kidnapping, first-degree burglary and vehicle theft.

The kidnapping charge includes aggravating circumstances that Hazel Abel, 86, was vulnerable and that the crime against her was deliberately cruel.

The Kennewick woman was tied up, placed in the car trunk and driven to Portland, where she freed herself as her alleged abductors stopped at a Walmart.

His friend, Billy J. Underwood, 15, has a March 21 trial date in Superior Court on similar charges.

Underwood’s girlfriend, KateLynn Kenfield, 15, is being tried in Juvenile Court. Her trial is March 28.

This story was originally published February 29, 2016 at 5:50 PM with the headline "Suspect in Kennewick great-grandmother’s kidnapping to get second competency evaluation."