Lewis County Sirens.com

Mark T. Robinson faces Judge Richard Brosey in Lewis County Superior Court.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A 45-year-old man released after a 12-year prison term for a violent rape found himself in the Lewis County Jail as lawyers attempt to keep him locked up even after he’s served his full sentence.

Mark T. Robinson was a truck driver who picked up an 18-year-old girl at a Spokane truck stop who wanted a ride to Toledo, according to court documents.

Along the way, he pulled over, held a knife to her neck and told her she would pay for her ride whether she liked it or not, court papers state.

Afterward, when they made a bathroom stop, Robinson dragged her across a road, held her by her neck over the edge of a cliff and made her promise on the lives of her family not to report it, according to the documents.

The teen, who was left with bruises, swelling and bites, jumped out of the big rig at an exit on Interstate 5 near Toledo when she saw her boyfriend’s mother driving by and asked to go to the hospital, the documents state.

Robinson was convicted three months later in September 2000 in Lewis County Superior Court of  first-degree rape and second-degree kidnapping.

He reportedly confessed to raping dozens of prostitutes in Pierce and King counties during the previous four to five years.

Robinson is among a small number of individuals convicted of sex crimes in Washington state where after their criminal sentence is completed, authorities attempt to retain them in custody for treatment until they are no longer dangerous, according to Senior Counsel Malcom Ross, at the Office of the Attorney General of Washington.

The process comes from the Community Protection Act of 1990, the first of its kind in the nation, according to Ross.

Ross filed the sexually violent predator petition for Robinson’s civil commitment in Lewis County Superior Court on May 10.

When Robinson appeared last week before Judge Richard Brosey, shackled and wearing red and white striped jail garb, the judge order him to be held at the McNeil Island Special Commitment Center, pending a trial in December to determine if the former Olympia area man qualifies for the detention.

Robinson was represented by Centralia attorney J.O. Enbody.

Documents in his court file describe an evaluation conducted a year ago at the request of the state Department of Corrections End of Sentence Review Committee.

A psychologist concluded Robinson suffers from sexual sadism and anti-social personality disorder.

Robinson told C. Mark Patterson Ph.D.. he was born and raised in a farming area near Olympia, and moved out of the family home at age 27.

He said he was bullied for being in special education classes and dropped out of school in the 12th grade.

He said in an interview with a detective, according to court papers, he got a thrill out of raping, but he confessed because he “wanted it over” and wanted help.

One of the incidents was corroborated by prostitute who said he raped her at knife point in a truck near the Tacoma Tide flats, according to the documents.

Robinson was also convicted of patronizing a prostitute in 1998.

The psychologist’s opinion was Robinson is likely to commit acts of sexual violence if not confined.

The planned December trial is civil, not criminal, according to Ross.

The state Attorney General’s Office typically handles these types of cases, in the county where the criminal conviction occurred.

The attorney, who has been handling such cases for the past decade, said such a petition is filed for approximately 1 percent of offenders who are released from prison in Washington.

He estimated the facility at McNeil Island houses about 300 individuals, about two hundred of which are actually committed and the others awaiting the outcome of their case.

In order for Robinson to be civilly committed, Ross will have to prove he suffers from a mental or personality disorder which makes him likely to engage in predatory acts of sexual violence if not locked up.

Among the next steps, is finding the victim, he said. He wasn’t sure where she is from, but said she was on her way to visit the father of her child in Winlock when she was raped.

Thurston County sheriff's deputies gather outside the vacant house where Amanda Bassell was found hiding.

Updated at 8:22 p.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

ROCHESTER – Deputies this evening arrested the 23-year-old woman wanted for allegedly stabbing her mother early this morning in Rochester.

Amanda Lee Bassell was hiding in an abandoned house on Guava Street and 193rd Avenue Southwest.

She was barefoot, soaking wet and exhausted when she was found, according to Thurston County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Greg Elwin.

She was taken away to be booked for attempted first-degree murder.

At least five deputies and a K-9 searched the neighborhood around the home at the 18700 block of Elderberry Street Southwest, where Bassell had been staying with her parents.

They tracked her all day.

They thought she was on foot, possibly hunkered down in the brush somewhere or hiding in an abandoned building, according to the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office.

“She’s been making phone calls trying to get help, and nobody wants to help her,” sheriff’s Lt. Greg Elwin said shortly after 6 p.m.

They found indications someone had crawled under a fence, which led to a vacant house just a few blocks away, a place known for attracting transients, Elwin said.

A K-9 deputy looked inside, saw wet foot prints, and Bassell ran out from the basement, he said. Two detectives caught her running across a field just after 7 p.m.

Bassell allegedly took a kitchen knife to her sleeping mother’s neck just before 4:30 a.m. today, stabbing her numerous times. The mother awoke and fended off the attack. Bassell fled before deputies arrived, according to the sheriff’s office.

Bassell was released from prison just before Mother’s Day, where she spent almost four years, much of it in solitary confinement, according to her cousin.

“She’s kinda messed up in the head, she’s paranoid,” her cousin Krystin Martinez said.

Martinez, who also lives in Rochester, said Bassell came to a barbecue at her house the day she got out and seemed alright, except for one odd thing she said.

“She told me pregnant with three babies from Jesus and she’s named all of them,” Martinez said. “That’s the only thing I noticed that wasn’t normal.”

Martinez said her cousin had married an individual associated with the LVL gang. The sheriff’s office earlier had said Bassell had strong ties to Lewis County and was believed to have gang affiliations.

Ruth Daarud, 42, was taken to Providence St. Peter Hospital where she underwent surgery. She was moved to another hospital today, because her daughter called her, according to Martinez.

Martinez said her aunt came out of surgery this afternoon and was stable, but might have some continuing problems.

“She’s going to make it, but it’s worse than they thought,” Martinez said.

Elwin said Bassell was incarcerated for an eluding case out of Lewis County, and assaulted a guard while she was in prison.

Thurston County Sheriff's Office Deputy Rod Ditrich and his K-9 partner Rex leave a brushy area off Elderberry Street Southwest in Rochester.

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Sheriff's deputies were called to Amanda Lee Bassell's parent's home early this morning.

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Updated at 10:50 a.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Authorities are searching for a 23-year-old woman, suspected of stabbing her sleeping mother in Rochester this morning.

Amanda Lee Bassell

The 42-year-old victim has been taken to Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia and is in stable condition, according to the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies were called around 4:30 a.m. to the 18700 block of Elderberry Street Southwest, according to the sheriff’s office.

They are looking for the daughter, Amanda Lee Bassell, described as 5-feet 4-inches tall and weighing about 130 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.

Bassell is wanted for attempted murder.

Sheriff’s Lt. Greg Elwin says Bassell has strong ties to Lewis County and is believed to have gang affiliations.

Elwin said the victim awoke to being assaulted and was stabbed in and around her neck numerous times.

She was able to fend off her attacker and flee the bedroom, only to collapse in another part of the house, according to Elwin. The father was asleep in another room and awoke to his wife screaming for help, he said.

He said a smaller-type kitchen knife was used.

They have no idea what prompted it, he said.

“The mother was completely asleep and woke to being attacked,” Elwin said. “There was no precipitating events. It’s a complete mystery at this point.”

The suspect fled the scene before law enforcement arrived, according to Elwin.

Bassell was recently released from prison, for cases involving eluding in Lewis County and assaulting a guard while incarcerated, according to Elwin. She was then just recently in the Lewis County Jail and released, he said.

She had been staying with her parents the past week or so, he said.

The mother is currently undergoing surgery, he said.

The sheriff’s office says Bassell, who also goes by the last name Daarud, should be considered “assaultive” and not approached if spotted. They ask that anyone who knows her whereabouts to call 911 or the sheriff’s office at 360-704-2740.