The man who was seen on motel surveillance video fatally stabbing Armando Carlos Reyes at Oceanside Motel in Hoquiam on Feb. 28 will receive a mental evaluation before his arraignment.
Michael Anthony Trujillo, 33, of Hoquiam, who appeared in Grays Harbor Superior Court on Monday, March 14, in what was scheduled to be his arraignment, was supposed to face charges for second-degree murder and second-degree theft for allegedly stabbing Reyes and stealing his iPhone 11.
Instead, Trujillo’s arraignment was postponed until mid-April.
The postponement is so Western State Hospital staff can evaluate Trujillo to see if he’s competent to stand trial. Trujillo is currently being held at Grays Harbor County Jail on $750,000 bail.
Grays Harbor County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Jason Walker addressed the wrinkle in Monday’s hearing, via Zoom, in front of Grays Harbor Superior Court Judge Katherine Svoboda.
Walker said (David) Arcuri, who is Trujillo’s attorney, wanted Walker to prepare an order for a competency evaluation.
Walker told Svoboda he has obliged to Arcuri’s request.
During Walker’s review of the statutes on competency evaluations in cases where the defendant faces charges as serious as Trujillo does, he found the defendant is frequently transferred to Western State Hospital, a state-owned psychiatric hospital in Lakewood, where they are evaluated for 15 days.
“My review of the statute is that is up to the court,” he said. “It is discretionary. It says the court may order him to Western State Hospital.”
Walker said defendants could also be ordered by the court to be evaluated within the jail, which could be done much quicker.
“I know Mr. (David) Arcuri’s position is he would prefer Mr. Trujillo be transferred to Western State Hospital to have the evaluation done,” Walker said.
Arcuri then addressed Svoboda, stating that Walker asked him to make a preference between the in-patient evaluation or an evaluation at the jail.
Arcuri went with the 15-day evaluation because of the severity of Trujillo’s charges.
“I believe, out of an abundance of caution, it would be best to have him viewed at Western State (Hospital) for 15 days,” Arcuri said. “I don’t want them to come down and do a three-hour interview with him.”
Svoboda explained the route the court would go in this case.
“There’s a range (of) whether he’s competent or not,” she said. “Perhaps (it’s) diminished capacity. The best course is going to be an inpatient evaluation. That is the gold standard.”
Svoboda then said she wanted Trujillo transported to the hospital, where he’d be evaluated in-person.
Walker recommended the hospital be given about a month before the case is reviewed.
After Trujillo is evaluated, he has been scheduled to appear for his arraignment in Grays Harbor Superior Court on April 18 at 1 p.m.
There is a GoFundMe.com page to help the family of Reyes, who was killed while doing his job, pay for his funeral expenses. As of Tuesday afternoon, March 15, the page has raised $3,543 with the help of 61 donations. The page states the goal is to raise $5,000.
