By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – The Packwood man awaiting trial for allegedly forcing his young woman friend up a logging road and then dragging her out of the Glenoma grocery while armed with a machete this summer will be seeing the psychiatrists again before his case can proceed.
[1]Zachery H. Bynum
Zachery H. Bynum, 41, was arrested and charged in July but his lawyer said his mental stability was in question so he was evaluated by doctors at Western State Hospital before he could be arraigned.
He was found to be competent enough to understand his court proceedings, his lawyer David Arcuri said today.
However, Arcuri told a judge a today, he has concerns once more and asked for Bynum’s competency to be evaluated again.
It’s based upon what occurred when he visited his client in the jail yesterday, Arcuri said, but didn’t offer any detail.
Bynum was arrested at gunpoint at the end of a police pursuit on July 16 after he allegedly forced a 22-year-old Morton woman to flee a deputy in her truck. Court documents state the events of that day came after she met with Bynum to tell him she could not see him any more.
He is charged with first-degree kidnapping and second-degree assault and other offenses.
This summer, when Bynum was first to go before a judge, he refused. His first lawyer told a judge Bynum had significant mental issues.
The next time he was in court, when Arcuri requested his client meet with experts at the state mental hospital, he vigorously disagreed with the plan and tried to fire Arcuri.
A judge signed an order today to have Bynum evaluated again and cancelled the scheduled trial.
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For background, read “Packwood kidnapping suspect heads to mental hospital” from Sunday July 28, 2013, here [2]