Zachery H. Bynum tries to fire his lawyer David Arcuri after Arcuri asks a judge to have Bynum evaluated by mental health specialists.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – The Packwood man who allegedly kidnapped his young woman friend – first forcing her up a logging road and then dragging her out of the Glenoma grocery, both while armed with a machete – won’t be seeing a judge again anytime soon.
Zachery H. Bynum’s mental stability is in question.
A judge signed an order for the 41-year-old to be evaluated at Western State Hospital to determine if he’s competent enough to understand the court proceedings he’s involved in.
“And, that his mental disease, if he has one, or his mental status, is such that he can effectively assist his lawyer,” defense attorney David Arcuri said.
Bynum was arrested at gunpoint at the end of a police pursuit on July 16 after he allegedly forced 22-year-old Hesper Barker of Morton to flee a deputy in her truck. Court documents state the events of that day came after Barker met with Bynum to tell him she could not see him any more.
He remains held in the Lewis County Jail on $250,000, charged with 12 counts, including first-degree kidnapping and second-degree assault.
He was in court on Thursday to be arraigned, but that can’t be done unless he’s found competent.
Family members from Packwood, Seattle and Eastern Washington traveled to attend the hearing in support of him.
“Everyone just wants help for him, that’s all,” his sister Lela Bynum said. “The episode that happened, it’s not his personality, it’s not who he is.
“They’re just that, they’re episodes.”
Bynum’s father and step mother live in Packwood. He lives with a friend and helps take care of horses and the farm, according to Trish Schmid who said she raised him from the time he was 9 years old. The sheriff’s office described him as a homeless person when he was arrested.
He has a prior felony conviction for second-degree assault from 1994 and several misdemeanor convictions for domestic violence and harassment, according to prosecutors.
His 19-year-old daughter saw him for the first time in a decade in the courtroom last week.
“The last time I saw him, I was on the stand, testifying against him,” Tawnee Bynum said.
One of his his priors is a fourth-degree assault from 2003 in which she was the victim, at age 10, she said. A no contact order kept them apart, and she only recently learned it had expired.
Her father looked like he was about to cry when he realized who she was and that she was there, she said.
“When I mouthed I love you to him, he had the biggest smile on his face,” she said.
Tawnee Bynum didn’t go into any detail about the past, only saying she and her sister both want their father to get better.
When Bynum was first to go before a judge, he refused. The following day, when he did appear, temporary defense attorney Bob Schroeter apologized to the judge, saying his client had significant mental health issues.
Arcuri, who was then appointed to represent him because he is indigent, said he spoke with Schroeter and met with his new client in the jail and concluded he had a duty to get an evaluation done by experts at the state mental hospital.
Bynum vigorously disagreed with Arcuri’s request to the judge and told him he was fired. Judge Nelson Hunt signed the order, because a defendant can’t even make that decision unless he or she is competent, according to Arcuri.
A review hearing is scheduled for Aug. 8.
If Bynum is found competent, he can be then arraigned, according to Arcuri. If he is not found competent, the hospital can keep him while it “restores competency” something that is sometimes done with medication, Arcuri said.
Zachery H. Bynum recognizes his daughter in the courtroom whom he hasn’t seen in 10 years.
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For background, read “Lawyers: Mentally disturbed Packwood man kidnapped woman friend” from Thursday July 18, 2013, here
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