By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – Murder defendant Joshua Leroy Vance was acutely psychotic and responding to “command hallucinations” to kill his father early in the morning on March 7 in their Onalaska home, according to a mental evaluation conducted by a psychologist.
Joshua Vance
Defense attorney David Arcuri submitted Dr. Brett Trowbridge’s professional opinion when he filed a motion asking for an acquittal of his client based on insanity. Vance pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in early May.
Yesterday, in Lewis County Superior Court, the prosecutor’s office said now they would like their experts to examine Vance as well.
Vance, 25, is charged with first-degree murder after allegedly using a knife to attack his sleeping father, 58-year-old Terry Vance on March 7.
The younger Vance is also charged with three counts of attempted first-degree murder, as he allegedly told a deputy he was going to kill his grandmother, nephew and uncle but couldn’t because he cut his hand.
He remains held in the Lewis County Jail on $1 million bail.
The Centralia College student has already been evaluated by specialists from Western State Hospital who determined he was mentally competent to stand trial, but now they will evaluate him for insanity, according to an order signed by a judge yesterday.
Vance appeared in court for the brief hearing.
According to Arcuri, the guidelines for criminal insanity look at if a person suffers from a mental disease or defect such that they could not comprehend the nature or quality of their act, and, even if they could understand, could not conform their behavior.
Trowbridge wrote in his report, which Arcuri received on June 1, an insanity defense would be appropriate because at the time of the alleged incident, with Vance’s acute mental illness he was unable to appreciate the nature and quality of his conduct.
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.
Vance told the evaluator he started using methamphetamine at age 11, but had not used it for the previous two years.
Vance’s family say 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.
If state doctors decide to bring him to their facility to conduct the exam, they can commit him for not more than 15 days and then as soon as is practicable furnish the court with a report on their findings, according to the court order.
Lewis County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher said the two sides set a date of Aug. 2 to check in with the judge about the status of the upcoming evaluation.
A trial is scheduled for the week of Oct. 22.
•••
For background, read:
• “Onalaska man pleads insanity in father’s fatal stabbing” from Tuesday May 8, 2012, here
• “Murder suspect: “When he was good, he was such a good young man”” from Friday March 9, 2012, here
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
I have a brother that comes and goes with many bad mental problems. Every time he comes here to live and goes to the Cascade Mental Health place and they start changing the meds. and problems with the rx’s and getting apts. And for sure it’s only time and hes all messed up… They are not good at what they are here for and there is no other place for them people to go… I feel the pain of this mans family.This did not have to happen.
wow you may not want us here but we are and we are growing in numbers.
If you have to take drugs to NOT KILL another person, I don’t want you in society.
@ “Seriously…Stupid!”, while I agree with you in that mental illness needs to be treated the same as a disease is treated, I disagree in the alleged recreational drug use (meth is NOT a drug you will find doctors prescribing…) being tied to said mental illness. In the case of this person and his need for medication to help him battle his mental issues, the system indeed failed him. The extreme high costs of the medications is simply unacceptable (and, of course, the new laws mandating that everyone get health insurance does absolutely nothing to lower those costs).
Perhaps over time, said drug use can (and does) lead to mental problems (hey, just look at all the meth heads in Lewis County to see that!), but using recreational drugs is a personal choice. In this case, a bad choice. Very bad.
This person should be held accountable for his actions, as we all should be, but while he is paying for his crimes, he should be getting the help that he needs.
Or, we could just sweep this (and him) aside…. but that would be us failing us AND him…
No, “Seriously”, that is NOT what his lawyer is saying. He is saying the man has mental illness SO severe that he “could not comprehend the nature or quality of their act, and, even if they could understand, could not conform their behavior.”
From what I’ve read, the drug use is incidental to the mental illness… and indeed, not at ALL related to the murder of his own father.
If you want to rail at someone – why not get after the medical community for not adequately informing this mentally ill man (and or his family) that the $1,000 per month medicine is often available through samples given to doctors. Also, Medicaid can cover some of these meds. But no, the man was trying to conform to society by NOT looking for a handout (which is how I would guess many might phrase accepting charitable medication), and look where it got him?
If we treated Mental Illness as disease, and not a shameful event, more folks would be up front about their needs and perhaps more would get treated. Instead, you and I get to support him in hospital for the rest of his life… does THAT make you happy? When for FAR less money, we could have paid for his medicine and perhaps his father would still be alive, he would be not incarcerated and both might actually work and contribute.
Narrow minded fools who scream DRUG ADDICT! String Him Up! are who the politicians (who make the rules) appear to listen to when creating the laws. You and your vehement knee-jerk response contributes to why we have such poor health care solutions in this country.
So this man’s lawyer is saying it is okay to be on drugs and kill someone…It is a persons choice to be on drugs, it is not a persons choice to be murdered!