ST. HELENS, Ore. (AP) — An Oregon doctor has traveled to the Columbia County Jail in St. Helens to assess the mental competency of a man accused of fatally shooting Rainier Police Chief Ralph Painter.
Sheriff Jeff Dickerson said Thursday that a doctor evaluated 21-year-old Daniel Butts of Kalama, Wash., on March 4 and on March 8. County authorities had been told it might be mid-March before Oregon State Hospital had room to perform the evaluation at the Salem facility.
The Daily News of Longview, Wash., says the sheriff did not say when the doctor’s report is expected. Butts’ lawyers say he’s not sufficiently mentally stable to assist in his defense. They won a court order to have him evaluated.
Butts is charged with aggravated murder and related counts in Painter’s Jan. 5 death.
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Information from: The Daily News, http://www.tdn.com
