Defendant accused of plots to hurt correction officers

EPHRATA — A 23-year-old Moses Lake man in custody for charges of aggravated first-degree murder connected to a shooting in March 2004, is blaming "voices" in his head for his recent criminal behavior in jail.

Dustin Gene Abrams, accused of shooting to death 79-year-old Soap Lake resident Michael B. Mallon, has been held in Grant County Jail since June 2005. The case is currently set for jury trial Feb. 26 in Grant County Superior Court.

Awaiting the murder trial as it's been delayed nine times, Abrams' criminal behavior in jail includes an August 2005 escape attempt. Abrams was caught chiseling through the cinder blocks of his cell. He eventually dug halfway out. A Grant County jury convicted him of the attempted escape in October 2005, along with a charge of malicious mischief for the damage to his cell.

Since the attempted escape, authorities say he constantly floods his cell. He's been charged with allegedly drenching a corrections officer with urine and threatening to splatter a mix of feces and water on an officer. He's also been charged with making and concealing metal "shanks," and for allegedly telling a fellow inmate he wanted to kill an officer working in the jail who reportedly "made fun of him," court documents show.

The latest criminal charges, filed in June, include intimidating a public servant, assault, malicious mischief, possession of deadly weapons and harassment with threats to kill, according to charging papers.

Abrams said he's "hearing voices," claiming during a Wednesday hearing in superior court he's not guilty of the charges filed in June for reason of insanity. The voices, he said, are telling him correctional officers are scheming to injure or kill him.

Abrams was allegedly found with "five large pieces of metal, four of which were sharpened," charging papers state. Abrams allegedly told a fellow inmate he planned to "shank" a corrections officer who "made fun of him (Abrams) for killing the old man (Mallon),” a Grant County Sheriff's Office report filed with charging papers states.

Abrams and his public defender Mike Aiken requested Wednesday photographs be taken of fecal matter smeared on Abrams' cell walls. Both Aiken and Abrams are splitting legal duties in the case, with Abrams acting as his own attorney and defending himself against roughly half the charges.

Aiken told visiting Douglas County Superior Court Judge John Hotchkiss he's observed his client's declining mental state for months.

Hotchkiss, presiding over the case after three Grant County superior court judges were dismissed, granted Abrams the mental health evaluation he sought during the hearing. Abrams is allowed to select a psychologist of his choice to determine his competence. An initial mental exam, by a psychologist from Eastern State Hospital near Cheney, determined Abrams was "malingering," or faking the symptoms of a mental disorder, Hotchkiss said.

"I'm becoming a little suspicious about the motivations for (a second evaluation)," Grant County Prosecutor John Knodell said during the hearing. Knodell insisted Abrams is trying to delay the trial. "This is game playing."

The second psychologist now has 30 days to complete the evaluation. A hearing to review the status of the psychologist's findings was scheduled for Feb. 14.

Abrams initially represented himself without an attorney on the first-degree murder charge. Eventually, public defender Alan White was assigned as "standby (legal) counsel." Public defenders Jeff Goldstein, Mike Haas and David Kraft have also worked the murder case.

Haas said Wednesday he's working to avoid a tenth continuance of the murder case. Both he and Goldstein expect to be the trial team.

Haas declined to comment about his client's competency, or the possibility of entering an insanity plea to the murder charge.

"It's not appropriate for me to disclose the strategy," Haas said in an interview.

When Abrams first requested to represent himself as his own attorney in the murder case Grant County Superior Court Judge Ken Jorgensen was openly concerned about the murder defendant's decision.

"Are you crazy?" Jorgensen asked Abrams during a July 5, 2005, hearing in superior court.

"Not according to mental health," Abrams told the judge. "I go into this with my eyes wide open."