Winlock murder suspect to be evaluated by psychologist

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The Winlock man who allegedly gunned down his neighbor in his neighbor’s driveway late last month pleaded not guilty yesterday to first-degree murder.

Randolph Thomas Graham, 58, appeared before a judge in Lewis County Superior Court, represented by defense attorney David Arcuri. A jury trial was put on the calendar for the week of August 6.

Randall J. Lester, 44, of Winlock, had been playing basketball with his 15-year-old son when Graham pulled up, brandished a firearm and fired multiple rounds on the evening of May 23, prosecutors allege. The boy was able to run to safety.

Graham was arrested at his house when Lewis County Regional SWAT entered his residence after he refused to surrender.

Arcuri requested and was granted authorization for a psychological evaluation to be conducted on his client, to determine his mental competency to stand trial and also his mental status at the time of the alleged crime, according to a court filing from May 31.

The investigation revealed there was an ongoing dispute between the two men, according to Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer.

Authorities said Lester was struck once in the chest, twice in his back and once near the base of his skull. Bullet holes in the residence appeared to follow the general path taken by the teen as he was fleeing the area, according to Meyer.

Graham also pleaded not guilty yesterday to first-degree assault and drive-by shooting.

He remains in the Lewis County Jail, held on $5 million bail.
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For background, read: “Prosecutor: Fatal shot near base of Winlock victim’s skull” from Wednesday May 30, 2018, here

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This entry was posted on Friday, June 15th, 2018 at 5:19 pm and is filed under Top story of the day. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

3 Responses to “Winlock murder suspect to be evaluated by psychologist”

  1. Lawn Mowing Economy says:
    Wednesday, June 20, 2018 at 11:11 am

    Type the word Winlock into the search window at top right. See what pops up. By the way, did that commercial crematorium ever get built out there?

  2. Neighbor says:
    Tuesday, June 19, 2018 at 9:30 am

    Presumptuous, and ridiculous.

  3. There's coffee & maple bars says:
    Saturday, June 16, 2018 at 1:18 pm

    This whole tragedy could have been averted. If only local law enforcement had taken advantage of the consultation services offered by Tactical Institute’s Crime Prevention Center.
    Provided at a reasonable rate to Governmental entities.

    That might just be being presumptuous, however, on my part.