Charges dismissed in school trespass case

Charges were dropped Tuesday against a transient man who allegedly followed a student into Columbia River High School, court records show.

Pini Nou, 34, was facing two counts of second-degree criminal trespass and obstructing a law enforcement officer in Clark County District Court. However, a mental health evaluation found that Nou is not competent to stand trial, meaning he cannot understand the proceedings or assist in his defense, according to an order for dismissal.

Court records indicate that Nou was not ordered to undergo treatment because he would be unable to regain competency in time for court proceedings. He will have to complete a second evaluation to determine if he needs to be committed to a mental health facility, court records said.

Nou was initially facing allegations of second-degree burglary, second-degree criminal trespass, resisting arrest and disturbing school activities in Clark County Superior Court. The prosecution decided not to file felony charges, however.

Nou allegedly followed an 18-year-old female student from a public bus stop into the Hazel Dell school at about 12:30 p.m. March 2. The student said she saw Nou smoking a cigarette across from the school on Northwest 99th Street. She didn’t think he would follow her, she said, so she continued to class, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Minutes later, Nou entered the same classroom while smoking a cigarette. He circled around the student’s desk and “chuckled at her,” court records said.

He ran from the classroom, pulled a ski mask over his face and became confrontational with security staff, according to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office. He then fled to a neighborhood southeast of the school. Deputies found him in the backyard of a house in the 400 block of Northwest 98th Street. Nou reportedly was combative, and a deputy used a stun gun on him during the struggle.