PORT ANGELES — A psychological evaluation has determined that Bobby J. Smith, the Port Angeles man charged with first-degree murder for the shooting death of his next-door neighbor last June, is competent to stand trial.
A new trial date will be set Friday.
Smith, 59, allegedly shot and killed 63-year-old Robert Fowler in Smith’s residence at 211 Vashon Ave., on June 20.
He is being held in the Clallam County jail on
$1 million bond.
Smith was committed to Western State Hospital near Tacoma in January and ordered to undergo competency restoration. Court papers say he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Defense attorney Alex Stalker on Friday made a motion to delay the trial-setting hearing because of new information that he and fellow Clallam Public Defender Harry Gasnick needed to review.
Clallam County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney John Troberg advised that a state witness would be unavailable until Aug. 3.
Superior Court Judge George L. Wood said Smith’s speedy trial window will expire July 24. The judge reset the hearing for 9 a.m. Friday.
Wood found Smith competent to stand trial after Western State issued its competency report last month.
Gasnick advised that the defense would not dispute that Smith is “minimally competent,” adding that Smith should resume his medication regimen.
After the shooting, Smith reportedly told police that he shot Fowler several times with a 45.-caliber Colt pistol until Fowler stopped moving on his living room floor.
An autopsy revealed that Fowler was incapacitated by gunshot wounds before a fatal shot to the brain stem.
Smith, who phoned 9-1-1 immediately after the shooting, told investigators that Fowler had demanded money, took a knife off a table and tried to cut him.
Smith was not charged until a three-month crime lab investigation was completed.
By that time, he had moved to the Amarillo, Texas, area.
Texas Rangers served an arrest warrant in September and booked him into a Texas jail.
Two Port Angeles police officers flew to Amarillo in October to collect more evidence and bring Smith back to Clallam County in handcuffs.
Smith has maintained his innocence.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rob.ollikainen@
peninsuladailynews.com.
