Ahead of a new trial date, Deborah Lennon will undergo her third mental evaluation.
The Portland woman is accused of shooting her former supervisor at a U.S. Veterans Affairs office in Vancouver on Feb. 4.
Lennon is scheduled to face trial on Sept. 22 for attempted murder, stalking, cyberstalking and first-degree assault.
She is accused of taking a handgun into the Center for Community Health, 1601 E. Fourth Plain Blvd., and shooting VA executive Allen Bricker, 45, twice.
Veterans Affairs employee and former Marine Neil Burkhardt, 31, of Portland tackled Lennon and wrestled away her handgun to end the shooting incident, according to court documents.
Lennon, 46, previously pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. She will be sent back to Western State Hospital for what will be her third mental evaluation, the focus of which this time will be sanity and diminished capacity, according to her attorney, Steven Rucker.
The first mental evaluation focused on Lennon’s competency and found her mentally fit to stand trial. The second evaluation was done on Rucker’s request for a second opinion; psychiatrist Dr. Jerry Larsen evaluated Lennon and reached the same conclusion as the state.
Lennon had worked as a financial auditor under Bricker until she quit about two years ago. While she and Bricker were still colleagues, she became infatuated with him, according to court documents. Bricker, who did not return her affection, alleged that Lennon stalked him. Courts had issued two temporary protection orders in his favor.
