Zachery H. Bynum talks with his lawyer Jacob Clark after signing sentencing documents in Lewis County Superior Court today.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – After spending more than three years in custody, between jail and the state psychiatric hospital, a Packwood man was sentenced today for events he says he mostly doesn’t recall but a prosecutor called a day of hell for the victim.
Zachery H. Bynum pleaded guilty to first-degree kidnapping, two counts of second-degree assault, harassment and resisting arrest.
It was July 16, 2013, when Bynum was arrested at gunpoint on U.S. Highway 12 near Kiona Creek Road after an approximately four-mile police pursuit. He had dragged his young woman friend out of the Glenoma grocery store and forced her to drive toward Randle.
“She was the one who went through this,” Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead said of the then-22-year-old Morton woman. “She’s the one who had a knife held to her throat.”
Bynum, then 41 years old and living mostly in the woods, was suspected to suffer from severe mental issues from the start.
The allegations included Bynum first forcing the young woman up a logging road where he threatened her with a machete.
Defense attorney Jacob Clark today told the judge of a 10-minute evaluation by personnel from Western State Hospital that initially found Bynum competent and then jail visits in which he would watch his client pull out wads of hair and rip off his own fingernails.
“I’d talk through a little door, he wouldn’t come out from underneath his bed,” he said.
Clark said he asked them to evaluate him as an inpatient, which they did and when he’d come back, spend time in solitary, he would deteriorate again.
“We went through the process I think five times, maybe more,” Clark said.
Clark spoke of a previously undiagnosed brain disease that included cyclical swelling. His client’s current state of mind was the best it’s ever been, he said.
Halstead described the plea agreement in which both attorneys recommended 110 months in prison, as an amount of time sought because of the impact to the victim and also witnesses, including children.
The victim was present in the courtroom and asked Halstead to convey her wish Bynum get the maximum penalty.
Bynum took the judge up on an offer to address the court.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” he said. “I don’t remember what happened mostly, I believe it, but I’m sorry for what happened.”
Judge James Lawler agreed with a sentence of nine years and two months.
“I don’t think adding more time is going to change the impact on Mr. Bynum, given the mental health issues,” Lawler said.
The judge gave him credit for 1,142 days already served and ordered 36 months of supervision upon his release.
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For background, read “Lawyers: Mentally disturbed Packwood man kidnapped woman friend” from Thursday July 18, 2013, here
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
While I would agree with motorboating about cps i do not believe its an accurate comparison. First off he didn’t have a gun. Secondly while the children have it bad the fuckery happens to the parents. Cps is a lot closer to human trafficking than kidnapping. Get it right. Trust me having a knife to orbin your throat is no vacation. It fucks people up badly. As it did in this case. I hope this does something for the person he did this to, she will be impacted by this the rest of her life.
I was a friend of Zach’s father and I knew Zach many years ago . The man they talk of here is not the young man I knew. At the time I knew him he was Mr. Mom married to a woman too busy with her career to raise her children. He was a bright , funny warm person who had his own business and employed several others . He allowed his wife to follow her dream . Once she did she came back and decided she was too good for him. There is two sides to this story and not all involved are innocent including Zach. The last time he was in the news the comments were terrible and I felt for his father and defended him then too. People should not speak of what they do not know . His Dad is gone now as are the days we were all friends , but I remember a different time and a different Zach. This is very sad for the two little girls he tried to raise and was ripped away from , but others hold culpability for this too and they know who they are .
Motorboatin, funny thing is that Zach was one of those you speak of. Great father who was ripped from his children by a wacky ex with a power trip!And of course the courts sided with the women and he lost. He was driven crazy by losing the only thing he loved (his children)! He hasn’t been the same since losing his kids. It certaintly doesn’t excuse his behavior but it’s sure sad to see a once great dad/person destroyed by lies!!!
Yep you’re right Motorboatin, a judge down in Georgia got busted in the Kids for Cash Scam. It’s suck what’s going on with privatized prisons. I see the prison buss on I-5 daily heading to and from work. The busses are ran by GEO transport they are another corporation that is involved in criminal acts against citizens. Look them up Just type in GEO Transport Law Suits. The corruption is out in the open, so what are you going to do when it gets you’re family member, keep drinking the water or do something about it. We can easily make a change, but Pokemans too important I guess.
What about state sponsered kidnapping? Cps workers who take kids from perfectly good homes and force their parents to pay child support and accuse them of doing drugs. They lie in court and make stories up to steal Childeren. This case is paramount in prosecuting cps. All cps workers who knowingly take Childeren from good homes should get the same amount of time as Bynum. State sponsered kidnapping is on the rise. Using the law in the wrong way is much more dangerous than a gun. Kids for cash is alive and well. More than half of all court precedings involve cps in Lewis county but you don’t hear about it because of the inheritant shame to parents and protections in place to protect the child anonymously. All the judges are in on it. Clark is a big cps fall back taking cases often times sharing client info with cps prosecutors. More than two thirds of his case load is cps cases. They use child protections to fill in gaps between criminal cases. Using and abusing this county’s children and hardworking families to ensure they get a fat paycheck every month with overtime. If that isn’t worse that Bynum making a girl drive around with a gun pointed than you should see all the visitations and classes these children’s parents are required to go to just to try to get their kids back from these pigs.
Housing the mentaly I’ll in prison since Western State has failed the Tax Payers. Welcome to the 3rd World America. To bad all the tickets the coppers right can’t go to better programs. Oh well we will pay for it soon when all hell breaks loose in the Homeland.