EVERETT — Brandin Ayling blamed illicit drugs for last year’s sword attack on his grandmother, roommate and friend.
A Snohomish County Superior Court judge last week ordered the Lynnwood man to be evaluated for a drug addiction after she sentenced him to five years in prison. Judge Anita Farris also ordered Ayling to undergo a mental health evaluation.
She banned Ayling, 25, from possessing any guns or knives.
Police found multiple knives, swords and daggers inside his house while investigating the assaults. Ayling used a two-foot sword with an 18-inch blade to attack the victims.
They said Ayling “freaked out” after using drugs. He attacked one man, striking his hands and back. Ayling’s roommate was struck as Ayling swung the sword at the other man.
His grandmother heard the commotion from her duplex next door.
She confronted her grandson and asked if he’d cut somebody. He swung the sword at her, striking her arm.
She ran to call 911. Ayling yelled after her, “You wouldn’t call the cops on your own grandson, would you, Grandma?”
Ayling was wearing the sword on his hip when he was confronted by police.
He was convicted last month of three counts of second-degree assault.
Ayling didn’t admit any wrongdoing but conceded that a jury likely would convict him.
In court documents, Ayling said he never intended to harm anyone but he was under the influence of “heavy narcotics.”
Ayling didn’t have any prior felony convictions. He was arrested for a knife-related offense in 2011, and for another sword attack in Arlington in 2010, court records show.
In the 2010 case, Ayling, then 20, was accused of threatening his mother’s boyfriend with a sword and poking the man in the chest with the weapon. That case later was dismissed.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463, hefley@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @dianahefley
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