Lewis County Sirens.com

Grace E. Barker appears in Lewis County Superior Court today.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The 26-year-old woman accused of stabbing the father of her baby in the neck at his Mossyrock home was brought before a judge today for her first court appearance.

Grace E. Barker was rolled in a chair to which she was restrained into Lewis County Super Court.

Barker was non-communicative yesterday at the jail, and missed her scheduled appearance, but the judge told corrections officers she had to see him today, even if it meant employing a so-called drag order.

Barker said very little, except for “yes” when Judge Richard Brosey asked if Grace Barker was her true and correct name.

She was represented at the hearing by defense attorney Joely O’Rourke.

Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Kevin Nelson requested she be held on $1 million bail, noting the charges against her could change.

At last check, the victim was in critical condition, Nelson said.

Barker is charged with first-degree assault, an offense with a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Prosecutors wrote in court documents that Brian Slater was trying to get her to leave his residence when she picked up a knife, and he armed himself with a knife and when he threw his down thinking she had done the same, she stabbed him in the throat.

He was interviewed at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle before he underwent surgery.

Both Nelson and the judge spoke of getting an order on Monday, to have Barker’s competency evaluated by Western State Hospital. Brosey said he expected she could be seen by a doctor within 72 hours after that.

The judge appointed Centralia lawyer Shane O’Rourke to represent her. He set her bail at $500,000.

The judge also signed a no-contact order with the victim. He scheduled her arraignment for Thursday.

Jail staff emptied the courtroom of other defendants who made their first appearances this afternoon before bringing Barker up from the jail. They’re usually brought into court in groups.

Joely O’Rourke, who has worked in the courthouse since 2009, said she believed that was only the second time she’d seen a defendant brought to court in a restraint chair.

After Barker’s hearing was finished and she was taken back down to the Lewis County Jail, corrections officers brought another defendant into the courtroom in a restraint chair.

Shaylor L. Black also said very little.

Black was booked into the Lewis County Jail yesterday for possession of methamphetamine as Jane Doe, as Chehalis police weren’t certain of her real name.
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For background, read “Mossyrock argument: Two knives, one airlifted, other arrested” from Thursday April 7, 2016, here

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The second of two defendants brought to Lewis County Superior Court today from the jail in a restraint chair, Shaylor L. Black, was accompanied by four corrections officers.

Jennifer Jenkins, left, consults with temporary defense attorney Joely O’Rourke in Lewis County District Court.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The Onalaska woman who owns the nine horses and the two acres they were seized from by the county was upset to find herself in court yesterday.

“Outraged, floored, that they didn’t just come out and help me,” Jennifer Jenkins said after the hearing. “And turned it into a giant fiasco.”

Jenkins was arrested for animal cruelty the day before, following the evaluation of a young horse found trapped on its side in a pen of mud for an unknown length of time.

Tuesday April 5, 2016

Her own veterinarian advised the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office the animal was suffering from a painful skin infection from lack of shelter and/or blankets and was very malnourished, according to a narrative from the deputy assigned to the case.

The other eight horses occupying firmer ground had the same skin infection, according to Dr. Christian Affeldt. He described their living conditions with the mud and manure field as terrible, and not suitable for as many horses as Jenkins had on the property.

Lewis County District Court Judge Wade Samuelson yesterday afternoon entered pleas of not guilty to nine counts of animal cruelty and told Jenkins she may not possess or care for any livestock until her case is resolved.

Specifically, he ordered her not to ride, lead, groom or even pet a horse.

Jenkins, 44, was accompanied to court by a friend, and said she may have more comments on her situation later.

The fire department, deputies, code enforcement personnel and others spent hours on Tuesday rescuing the horse at Jenkins’ residence on the 2500 block of state Route 508 east of Onalaska.

Jenkins had gone to her veterinarian to ask for help and her neighbor summoned assistance by calling 911.

On Wednesday, Dr. Affeldt and also a veterinarian from the state Department of Agriculture looked at the animals. The state vet determined they were in pain caused from the deplorable living conditions and in serious need of medical attention, according to the sheriff’s office.

One of the mares is due to foal in the next couple of weeks, according to the Lewis County Animal Shelter.

Jenkins is charged with nine counts of animal cruelty in violation of Lewis County code. The offenses are gross misdemeanors with maximum penalties of 364 days in jail and a $5,000 fine.

While she was booked into jail Wednesday, she was released by posting bail in the amount of $4,500.

The code relates to criminal negligence and failing to provide adequate care.

Jenkins was assigned to a court appointed lawyer, David Brown.

Her next appearance in court is not yet scheduled, but would be expected to take place in a couple of weeks, according to Lewis County District.
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For background, read “Onalaska horse pulled from mud hole getting evaluated ” from Wednesday April 6, 2016, here

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Rescuers offer water to young horse after pulling it from mud on Tuesday. / Courtesy photo by Lewis County Fire District 1

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – There’s no guarantee a Mossyrock father will survive surgery for a stab wound to his neck while his “crazy” girlfriend is being held in a padded jail cell today.

Law enforcement responded yesterday to a 911 hangup call and another reporting a person was stabbed at the trailer park on the 200 block of Mossyrock Road West.

An arriving deputy saw Brian Slater with his right hand near his neck and waving at him with his other hand, according to court documents. His entire head was leaning to his right.

“Slater said his crazy girlfriend Grace Barker had stabbed him,” Lewis County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher wrote in the affidavit of probable cause.

Slater was transported to Morton General Hospital where medical staff said the wound was very deep, and was subsequently flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

He was alert and able to converse with a law enforcement officer sent to interview him, but reportedly had a punctured right lung and also a “jugular hematoma”.

Grace E. Barker, 26, was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail yesterday afternoon. She was charged today in Lewis County Superior Court with first-degree assault and scheduled to go before a judge at 4 p.m.

She was not present for the planned hearing.

Defense attorney Joely O’Rourke told the judge she tried meeting with Barker earlier.

“They have her in holding, in a padded cell,” O’Rourke said.

Several people, including jail staff, mental health persons and O’Rourke tried to talk with her, but Barker wouldn’t speak or even respond, O’Rourke said.

Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Kevin Nelson told Judge Richard Brosey the state had concerns for her mental health as well.

Judge Brosey ordered her continued detention with a no-bail hold. But he made it clear she would have to come to his courtroom tomorrow afternoon, unless a mental health professional told him she was incapable of doing so.

Charging documents indicate Barker is the mother of Slater’s 10-month-old child, and while the two no longer live together, she’s homeless and he let’s her stay at his place.

Lewis County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Jeremy Almond was the one to confront Barker yesterday, as she came walking fast around one side of the residence toward him.

She was holding a cigarette and yelling, and continued to advance when Almond ordered her to ground. He kicked her in the chest to put distance between them, holstered his pistol, drew his Taser and eventually handcuffed her, according to charging documents.

Morton Police Department Chief Roger Morningstar reported a comment Barker made while enroute to the jail.

“So what I tried to kill him. I tried to kill him, sometimes you have to do what’s right,” Meagher wrote in the court documents.

The documents offer the following account of what Slater told law enforcement.

He said he was arguing with Barker, trying to get her to leave, and she was acting unstable.

She armed herself with a knife, he armed himself with a knife, and he tried to back down the hallway.

“Slater said he thought Barker had thrown her knife down, so he threw his in the bathroom,” Meagher wrote. “Then Barker came up to him and jabbed him in the throat with the knife.”

Slater told a questioning trooper he begged her to get help, saying he “didn’t want to die like this.” He said he then ran outside and found a friend who called 911.

First-degree assault is a class A felony with a maximum penalty of life in prison.