MONROE — In 2018, an inmate at the Monroe Correctional Complex told custody officers he’d “kill one of them” if they didn’t get him a psychiatric evaluation.
The next year, prosecutors allege, that inmate attacked one of those officers. James Pauley later told investigators he’d been preparing for that day for months.
Just before noon on Sept. 7, a correctional officer was reportedly standing in the common area of the Special Offender Unit at the Monroe prison when Pauley approached him with a form in his hand. The inmate asked him a few questions about the paper.
When Pauley, now 37, felt the officer’s attention was on the paper, he attacked, according to criminal charges filed in Snohomish County Superior Court.
Pauley used both of his hands to grab the officer, the charges say. He bit the officer’s ear and used his thumb to gouge at an eye. The officer pushed Pauley away.
Another officer saw the attack and intervened, kicking the defendant twice to subdue him. They were able to restrain Pauley until help arrived, according to court documents.
After the assault, the officer who was attacked had a bruised eye and ruptured blood vessels in the eye, charging papers say. He had blurry vision for the next month.
In an interview with investigators, Pauley reportedly said he’d been transferred to Monroe from another institution. He was unhappy with his treatment in Monroe.
He said he didn’t have a reason for trying to kill this specific custody officer, but wanted to kill one of them, according to court papers. He reported he wanted to kill the officer by severing his jugular with his teeth and then gouging out the employee’s eyes.
Pauley had tried biting the officer’s neck, but missed, accidentally biting his ear instead, he told detectives.
The defendant said if not restrained, he wouldn’t have stopped the assault until the officer was dead, according to the charges. If given the opportunity, he reported he would’ve killed another officer.
At one point in the interview, a detective tried a clarify a part of the alleged assault. But Pauley reportedly corrected him.
“I don’t think it’s assault,” he said, according to court documents. “I think it’s attempted murder.”
Pauley went on to claim he had spent the previous six years feigning mental illness so he could have his own cell. He wanted the psychiatric evaluation to prove he had no mental illness, according to charging papers.
In April 2021, Snohomish County prosecutors charged Pauley with second-degree assault. But last month, they added two more allegations: attempted first-degree murder and custodial assault.
He is currently incarcerated on a 2010 conviction out of King County for first-degree robbery and second-degree assault. His estimated release date is February 2023, court records show.
In total, Pauley has nine felony convictions and a dozen misdemeanor violations.
Finding the defendant lacks the capacity to assist in his own defense due to mental illness, Superior Court Judge Karen Moore found Pauley incompetent to stand trial. On Tuesday, the judge ordered 90 days of competency restoration treatment for Pauley.
His next court hearing is set for Aug. 30.
Jake Goldstein-Street: 425-339-3439; jake.goldstein-street@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @GoldsteinStreet.
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