By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – The chances of Joshua Vance walking free if he’s found not guilty by reason of insanity?
Very unlikely, according to his lawyer.
[1]Joshua Vance / File photo
Vance, 25, is charged with murder after allegedly using a knife to attack his sleeping father, 58-year-old Terry Vance this past spring in their Onalaska home.
He’s been held in the Lewis County Jail on $1 million bail since his arrest while attorneys on both sides move the case through the criminal justice system.
His family says he was being treated for mental health issues at Cascade Mental Health in Chehalis and had gone off his medication because he couldn’t afford it.
Deputies were summoned early the morning of March 7 to the home on the 400 block of Pennel Avenue by a 911 call from Vance who said he’d just killed his father.
According to charging documents, he told a deputy he was going to kill everyone else on the property, but he couldn’t because he cut his hand. He told an arriving firefighter he cut his fingers to make himself stop.
Charging documents say Vance stabbed his father at least 11 times and cut his throat.
The sheriff’s office had no explanation as to why he did it.
The Centralia College student pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in early May. A hearing is scheduled before a judge in late September to hear from psychologists on both sides.
“A judge will decide if we’ve met our burden,” defense attorney David Arcuri said after a brief hearing today in Lewis County Superior Court.
Vance, who was brought up from the jail, sat quietly next to his lawyer this afternoon. He wasn’t asked to speak during the session before Judge Nelson Hunt.
He has been found competent to stand trial by professionals at Western State Hospital, but whether he suffers from a mental disease such that he could not comprehend his act, or even if he could understand, could not conform his behavior are separate questions to be addressed, according to Arcuri.
A doctor for the defense found that because of Vance’s acute mental illness at the time of the alleged incident, he was unable to appreciate the nature and quality of his conduct.
A subsequent evaluation was done by a doctor hired for the prosecution. Neither side would say today what that expert concluded. The report is not required to be added to the court file.
Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher would only say he is taking it “one step at a time.”
According to the report from Western State’s previous contact with Vance, he has been hospitalized in the past for command hallucinations to kill himself and harm others. He also has been treated for substance induced hallucinations, according to the report.
His diagnosis’s in the state doctors’ report included psychotic disorder, major depression, amphetamine dependence and alcohol abuse.
According to Arcuri, if the judge finds his client is not guilty by reason of insanity, there would be more questions for the judge to answer.
For example, according to Arcuri, how much of a danger does Vance present and should he be released with certain conditions, or should he be held at Western State Hospital.
Neither Arcuri nor Meagher indicated today it’s likely Vance could simply walk free.
A commitment to the state mental hospital with this type of plea can be as long as the top sentence for the crime charged. He is charged with first-degree murder and three counts of attempted first-degree murder. The maximum penalty is life.
Alternatively, if the judge isn’t convinced Vance is not guilty by reason of insanity, the next step is presenting that defense to a jury, according to Arcuri.
A trial is still on the calendar for the week of Oct. 22.
The day long hearing for the judge to hear from both psychologists is set for 9 a.m. on Sept. 26.
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For background, read:
• “Onalaskan’s insanity plea in alleged murder of father bolstered by mental exam” from Wednesday July 11, 2012, here [2]
• “Onalaska man pleads insanity in father’s fatal stabbing” from Tuesday May 8, 2012, here [3]
• “Murder suspect: “When he was good, he was such a good young man”” from Friday March 9, 2012, here [4]