After nearly six months of evaluation at Western State Hospital, Bret Allen Kenney, 35, was deemed incompetent by state medical professionals and unable to stand trial for the murder of his mother and attempting to kill a Sequim police officer.

The May 31 evaluation states that Kenney’s incompetency makes it so he cannot assist in his own defense and is unlikely to regain competency in a reasonable period of time, according to court documents.

Kenney’s appointed defense attorney John Hayden said in an interview it’s possible Kenney could remain indefinitely in a hospital if civilly committed.

However, Michele Devlin, Clallam County chief criminal deputy prosecuting attorney, said if he is ever deemed competent they could refile his four charges, including first degree premeditated murder, as they were dismissed without prejudice.

Judge Brent Basden ordered Kenney’s admission into Western State Hospital on June 24, 2022, and he was admitted on Dec. 19 for “psychiatric stabilization and the development of skills to adequately participate in a legal trial,” court documents state.

Kenney is accused of killing his 53-year-old mother Teri Ward of Sequim, who was found deceased May 19, 2022, in her home from multiple sharp-force injuries, court documents state.

Law enforcement responded to her home on a welfare check request by a family member after Kenney was arrested earlier in the day.

He was released from incarceration on Jan. 14, and was living with Ward in Sequim, according to law enforcement officials.

Kenney was pulled over at 4:31 a.m. on May 19 while driving at the Third Avenue/Washington Street intersection and he tackled officer Daniel Martinez minutes later, according to court documents and surveillance video.

The two wrestled for Martinez’s gun, which discharged. Four citizens and two Clallam County Sheriff deputies helped detain Kenney — who has four prior cases of assault on police officers — court documents state.

Kenney has been admitted to Western State Hospital four times previously after criminal charges, according to court documents, and he was last restored to competency for trial in 2017 after a 90-day period.

The intent behind restoration, according to state officials, would be so that Kenney could understand the nature of the charges against him and possible consequences, how the criminal justice system works and to see if he can help with his defense.

Charges could still go forward

Following Western’s findings, Basden on June 7 ordered four of Kenney’s charges be dismissed without prejudice, and he directed Western State Hospital to conduct a civil commitment evaluation.

Devlin said in an interview that state law prohibits anyone from being prosecuted if found incompetent to stand trial.

By filing to dismiss without prejudice, she said the Clallam County Prosecutor’s Office could refile the charges again if Kenney’s competency is restored.

“There’s no statute of limitations for the counts against Martinez and Ward,” she said.

If Western State Hospital officials choose not to civilly commit him, Devlin said they’d have to refile charges against Kenney and begin the process again.

Kenney faced charges of attempted second degree murder, assault in the first degree, disarming a law enforcement officer, and first degree premeditated murder with all four charges featuring special enhancements.

Devlin said Ward’s family and Martinez were notified of the hospital’s findings and her office’s decision, but she would not divulge her conversations with them.

Sequim Police chief Sheri Crain said in an interview she “trusts the investigative team and prosecutor’s office are doing whatever they can in the system so that this case is brought forward and victims get the closure they deserve.”

Said Crain, “I am not speaking for them, but I understand and am empathetic to them.

“Of course the victims do not like the delay. Victims are probably frustrated and understandingly so.”

Crain adds that this case among many others is an “indication that Washington needs a functioning mental health system for everything from forensic investigations to treatment.”

Crain said, “It’s not robust enough.

She said it’s not atypical that Kenney and other accused criminals have been unable to be restored.

Hayden agrees with that sentiment.

“At any given time, there’s a significant amount of people in the jail involved in mental health issues,” he said.

“Our county seems to have a larger percentage of population. “It’s just an epidemic. The whole situation is a disaster.”

Background

Multiple psychologists have diagnosed Kenney with schizophrenia, unspecified; stimulant use disorder; and alcohol use disorder, court documents state.

Last summer, Kenney filed motions from Clallam County jail asking for a new attorney, judge and prosecutors, calling Hayden a liar, while asking for a lawyer from Kitsap Bank to represent him. He also belittled his late-mother, according to court documents.

For the murder and attempted murder charges, Kenney was recommended for competency restoration last fall by Dr. Barry Ward, a psychologist with the Office of Forensic Mental Health Services Peninsula Regional Office, after Kenney stopped their interview prior to a forensic interview because Ward used shorthand to take notes and Kenney wanted him to write all of his words fully, according to court documents.

While at Western State Hospital, Dr. Paula Bernhard, a licensed psychologist for the state, wrote in March that Kenney’s symptoms were improving and she had a “strong belief (his) remaining symptoms would continue to improve with medication adjustments and additional time for treatment.”

Bernhard wrote, “It is my clinical opinion there is a reasonable likelihood he would regain competency with additional pharmacological and psycho-social treatment.”

She too said Kenney “meets diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia.”

Kenney engaged in “uncooperative, aggressive behaviors” in Clallam County Jail and Western State Hospital, Bernhard reported, with some actions including threatening and/or abusing staff and inmates, repeatedly saying his relatives were not related to him, and writing notes related to killings and physical violence.

However, Kenney’s treating psychiatrist in early March said Kenney’s “psychotic symptoms were ‘in much better control now than at time of admission,’ and did not present as guarded during their conversations,” and that delusions remained but his medication was being increased, Bernhard wrote.

Devlin said an updated review of Kenney would not be available for the public as it may violate the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

Kenney is “not restorable right now,” Hayden said.

“(Doctors) tried and tried but his mental illness is so deeply seeded,” he said.

If Kenney is civilly committed, Hayden said he’s not sure where it’d be, but it wouldn’t be for a restoration process.

“They’d be keeping him in a place where he’ll be safe and society is safe,” Hayden said.

He added that it’s rare to have an opinion where a defendant is not restorable.

“The bar for competence is pretty low,” Hayden said. “It doesn’t take that much to find someone competent.

“When they don’t, it shows how deeply seeded his issues are.

“He could be there indefinitely.”

A 72-hour timeline was given for determining if Kenney could be civilly committed, according to court documents. But when that time table starts was uncertain, Hayden said.