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Brian Brush meets with his court-appointed attorney William Penoyer at a previous court hearing in Pacific County Superior Court.
The murder trial of North River Boats Inc. owner Brian K. Brush has been put on hold again, court officials said Friday.
At the request of Brush's defense attorney, a Washington state judge set a Dec. 10 hearing to see if Brush is competent to stand trial, Pacific County (Wash.) Prosecutor David Burke said in a phone interview.
Brush, 47, is accused of shooting his on-again, off-again girlfriend in broad daylight Sept. 11 in Long Beach, Wash.
In a previous court appearance, Pacific County Superior Court Judge Michael Sullivan had ordered Brush to undergo a 14-day competency evaluation at a state psychiatric hospital near Tacoma.
Brush's defense attorney, David Hatch, had asked for the evaluation as he had said he could not communicate with Brush. Hatch also had said Brush family members had told him Brush has previously been treated for mental health problems.
On Friday, Burke said the competency evaluation has been completed. The court has sealed it, he said.
At a Friday status hearing, Hatch asked for the Dec. 10 competency hearing because “basically he wants the court to address whether or not Mr. Brush is competent to stand trial,” Burke said.
“At a minimum,” he anticipates, “the person who evaluated Brush will come to it.”
Brush has been charged with first-degree murder with aggravating factors. If convicted, he could face up to life in prison.
Brush is accused of shooting Lisa Bonney, 45, multiple times on a paved beach approach in Long Beach. Three police officers patrolling the area at the time say they heard what sounded like a gunshot at about 4:40 p.m.
From about 150 yards away, the officers allegedly saw Brush shooting a shotgun into tall grass beside the sidewalk. He then allegedly rapidly reloaded the shotgun and shot twice more into the grass.
The officers claim Brush then noticed them and threw the gun in the grass. He ripped his hat off and threw it in the air in an “angry motion” and then put his hands up and walked toward the officers in “an irate manner,” an officer stated in a court document.
Bonney's body was found in the grass with apparent gunshot wounds to her back and the top of her head. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
The officers were patrolling the area as about 60,000 people were in Long Beach that weekend for an annual car show. About 1,500 people live in Long Beach, where Brush has owned a home for more than a year.
Bonney, 45, was a lifelong Long Beach resident, longtime real estate agent and mother of two teenaged daughters. Police have said Brush and Bonney had what appeared to be a volatile relationship that included at least one alleged incident of domestic violence against Bonney.
Bonney filed for a protection order from Brush July 29 and then filed to dismiss it Aug. 11, a month before her slaying.
Brush is being held at Pacific County Jail in South Bend, Wash., on $5 million bail.
Earlier this year, the Federal Bureau of Investigation accused Brush and Green-based North River Boats of wire fraud. In April, the FBI served a search warrant at the company's production plant and accused Brush and North River of inflating inventory and invoices to gain more financing from Wells Fargo Bank.
Although Brush owns the boat-making company, an employee previously said a state court receiver is in control of all the company's operations.
• You can reach reporter Kathy Korengel at 957-4218 or by e-mail at kkorengel@nrtoday.com.
At the request of Brush's defense attorney, a Washington state judge set a Dec. 10 hearing to see if Brush is competent to stand trial, Pacific County (Wash.) Prosecutor David Burke said in a phone interview.
Brush, 47, is accused of shooting his on-again, off-again girlfriend in broad daylight Sept. 11 in Long Beach, Wash.
In a previous court appearance, Pacific County Superior Court Judge Michael Sullivan had ordered Brush to undergo a 14-day competency evaluation at a state psychiatric hospital near Tacoma.
Brush's defense attorney, David Hatch, had asked for the evaluation as he had said he could not communicate with Brush. Hatch also had said Brush family members had told him Brush has previously been treated for mental health problems.
On Friday, Burke said the competency evaluation has been completed. The court has sealed it, he said.
At a Friday status hearing, Hatch asked for the Dec. 10 competency hearing because “basically he wants the court to address whether or not Mr. Brush is competent to stand trial,” Burke said.
“At a minimum,” he anticipates, “the person who evaluated Brush will come to it.”
Brush has been charged with first-degree murder with aggravating factors. If convicted, he could face up to life in prison.
Brush is accused of shooting Lisa Bonney, 45, multiple times on a paved beach approach in Long Beach. Three police officers patrolling the area at the time say they heard what sounded like a gunshot at about 4:40 p.m.
From about 150 yards away, the officers allegedly saw Brush shooting a shotgun into tall grass beside the sidewalk. He then allegedly rapidly reloaded the shotgun and shot twice more into the grass.
The officers claim Brush then noticed them and threw the gun in the grass. He ripped his hat off and threw it in the air in an “angry motion” and then put his hands up and walked toward the officers in “an irate manner,” an officer stated in a court document.
Bonney's body was found in the grass with apparent gunshot wounds to her back and the top of her head. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
The officers were patrolling the area as about 60,000 people were in Long Beach that weekend for an annual car show. About 1,500 people live in Long Beach, where Brush has owned a home for more than a year.
Bonney, 45, was a lifelong Long Beach resident, longtime real estate agent and mother of two teenaged daughters. Police have said Brush and Bonney had what appeared to be a volatile relationship that included at least one alleged incident of domestic violence against Bonney.
Bonney filed for a protection order from Brush July 29 and then filed to dismiss it Aug. 11, a month before her slaying.
Brush is being held at Pacific County Jail in South Bend, Wash., on $5 million bail.
Earlier this year, the Federal Bureau of Investigation accused Brush and Green-based North River Boats of wire fraud. In April, the FBI served a search warrant at the company's production plant and accused Brush and North River of inflating inventory and invoices to gain more financing from Wells Fargo Bank.
Although Brush owns the boat-making company, an employee previously said a state court receiver is in control of all the company's operations.
• You can reach reporter Kathy Korengel at 957-4218 or by e-mail at kkorengel@nrtoday.com.
