A man accused of bursting into a crowded Mountlake Terrace classroom Dec. 18 will be evaluated to see if he is competent to make his own decisions, a judge said Monday.
James John Hansen II, 33, of Brier had been scheduled for sentencing on a charge of being a felon in possession of a gun. With six prior felony convictions, he faced about two years in prison.
He pleaded guilty and had been scheduled for sentencing in August but didn’t come to the hearing.
Police next contacted Hansen last month when he was dropping his daughter off at Mountlake Terrace Elementary School. Officers tried to stop his van on 52nd Avenue W. once they realized there was a warrant for his arrest.
Instead of stopping, Hansen drove back into the school parking lot and onto the sidewalk, court documents say. He then ran down a corridor and into a crowded classroom where an officer tackled him.
Hansen refused to give up, police said, and an officer used pepper spray to subdue him. Nine children were treated for the effects of the spray. Police confiscated a loaded semiautomatic pistol from him.
In late December, Hansen was charged again with unlawful possession of a firearm, a case that is still pending.
On Monday, he appeared before Superior Court Judge Charles French on the earlier firearms charge. Everett lawyer Richard Bennett asked French for a 45-day delay to allow Hansen’s examination for competency.
He may be evaluated again at the Western State Hospital mental health facility near Tacoma, Bennett said. Depending on the results, Bennett said he might ask the judge to let Hansen withdraw the guilty plea.
In the meantime, French gave Bennett the extension and set a new March 10 sentencing date. Hansen is being held without bail pending examination.
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