Everett stabbing suspect sent to Western State Hospital

EVERETT — A man with about 30 stab wounds showed up on his neighbor’s porch late one night in April.

He said he had been attacked by his roommate, according to charges filed in Snohomish County Superior Court.

Police arrived to find the man, 62, lying near the front door.

When asked where his wounds were, he reportedly replied, “Everywhere … I’m going to die.”

He could hardly speak and eventually lost consciousness.

Anthony Garcia, 21, has since been charged with first-degree assault with a deadly weapon. He lived with his father and the roommate in the 300 block of Bedrock Drive in Everett at the time of the stabbing.

This week, a Snohomish County Superior Court judge determined Garcia is not currently competent to help in his criminal defense, due to his mental illness. He is expected to be re-evaluated by the judge at a hearing scheduled in August, after undergoing 90 days of inpatient treatment at Western State Hospital.

Earlier this month, the Everett Police Department petitioned for an extreme-risk protection order against Garcia, and a Superior Court judge approved a one-year ban on the defendant having a gun. The order cited police reports from the unprovoked assault.

Just before 10 p.m. April 15, Garcia’s father and the victim were eating pizza and watching TV when Garcia asked for a ride to the store, according to police reports. His father said no, and after asking a few more times Garcia briefly left the house.

When he returned, he reportedly had a kitchen knife and began to stab the victim from behind, as he sat in a reclining chair, according to court records.

Garcia, who is described as 6 feet tall and 130 pounds, was tackled by his father, the charges say. During the struggle, the wounded man was able to flee. Eventually, the assailant escaped too.

Around that time the victim showed up at the neighbor’s house. Police arrived and began to search for the suspect.

Meanwhile, the father told police Garcia had recently stopped taking medication for a mental illness.

“He stated that, approximately one year ago, medical personnel at Harborview Hospital diagnosed the defendant with some sort of mental disorder, which causes the defendant to disassociate from reality,” deputy prosecutor Audrey Majkut wrote in the charging papers.

A police officer asked the father what Garcia had been diagnosed with, according to the charges. The father couldn’t remember.

A forensic mental health report later revealed Garcia had a provisional diagnosis — that is, a doctor’s “strong presumption” — of schizophrenia.

Around 1:40 a.m. an officer found Garcia on 60th Place SE, in the same neighborhood. He was arrested.

The wounded man underwent emergency surgery when he reached the hospital. He was in critical condition. A nurse estimated he had been stabbed about 30 times, according to the report. In all, he has had six surgeries since that night, the deputy prosecutor wrote.

He had been intubated and unable to talk with detectives until May 4. Even then, his injuries made it difficult to speak. He couldn’t write a statement, either. He communicated with police through head nods and a voice box, to confirm that Garcia was his attacker.

Meanwhile, Garcia underwent a forensic mental health evaluation. He gave a “rambling description of his medical history,” the doctor wrote in a report dated May 5. He talked about being hospitalized at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle about a year earlier.

“Dad knew there was something wrong so he wanted me to seek help and get better,” Garcia said, according to the report.

He told the physician he had been prescribed two medications at that time, but stopped taking them because “it’s overwhelming.”

He began to take medication again in jail, and planned to continue the routine at the hospital, the report said.

“It is my opinion that as a result of the symptoms of his mental illness, Mr. Garcia currently lacks the capacity to assist in his defense,” psychologist Deanna Frantz wrote.

Garcia had no prior felony convictions. Bail was set at $250,000.

Stephanie Davey: 425-339-3192; sdavey@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @stephrdavey.