2 plead not guilty in man’s beating

Defendants, from left, Michael Harvey, Shawn Rogers and Jeremiah Anderson face attempted murder charges in an attack on gang member Joshua Smith at Moulton Falls. Harvey is a skinhead and Rogers and Anderson are Juggalos, the same as Smith. (Troy Wayrynen/The Columbian)

Two of three defendants who allegedly tried to kill a Vancouver man for violating gang rules pleaded not guilty Friday to attempted first-degree murder.

A third defendant will undergo a mental evaluation at Western State Hospital.

Michael J. Harvey, 24, will be sent from the Clark County Jail to the Tacoma-area hospital to see if he’s competent to stand trial. His next court appearance was set for Dec. 24.

Jeremiah D. Anderson, 19, and Shawn W. Rogers, 18, pleaded not guilty.

Clark County Superior Court Judge Diane Woolard set trial for Jan. 12.

According to court documents, Harvey is affiliated with skinheads and Anderson and Rogers are affiliated with Juggalos.

The victim, Joshua Smith, told detectives that he had been involved with Juggalos, who are followers of the Detroit rap/horror group Insane Clown Posse, for years. Smith told detectives that around midnight Nov. 1, he was on Fourth Plain Boulevard when he was picked up by the suspects and driven to Moulton Falls Park, about three miles south of Yacolt.

After he was beaten and thrown over a footbridge, the suspects left, Smith said, according to court documents. He said he flagged down a motorist on Northeast Lucia Falls Road and was taken to Southwest Washington Medical Center, where he was treated for a punctured lung and stab wounds.

It’s not clear what gang rules Smith allegedly violated.

In an affidavit, Detective Eric O’Dell of the Clark County Sheriff’s Office wrote, “(Smith) did not know why he was being beaten. He said the suspects were telling him as they were beating him that he wasn’t a Juggalo and he wasn’t a skinhead. (Smith) said they kept saying something about ‘transformers,’ which he did not understand.”

One definition of “transformer” is someone who switches gang affiliations.

Smith said Harvey wanted him to become a skinhead, according to O’Dell’s affidavit.

Stephanie Rice: 360-735-4549 or stephanie.rice@columbian.com.