Murder defendant now charged with assault against corrections officer

EVERETT — A criminal defendant already charged with murder and assaults on two lawyers and a corrections officer has again landed in trouble.

Joshua Monson, 28, is accused of head-butting a Snohomish County corrections officer Sunday, according to court papers.

The incident allegedly

occurred when officers were searching Monson’s cell as part of a theft investigation. Sheriff’s deputies said the incident was caught on videotape. He was arrested for investigation of third-degree assault.

The officer was head-butted in the face, and the force of the blow caused him to reel backwards and strike his head on a wall, according to court papers. Monson was in handcuffs and leg irons during the cell search.

In Everett District Court on Tuesday, a judge added another $50,000 to Monson’s growing bail tab. He already faces $1 million bail on the second-degree murder charge.

Monson also has been charged with two counts of fourth-degree assault after allegedly stabbing two of his attorneys in the neck with pencils last May. In July, he allegedly head-butted a corrections officer during another search of his cell at the Snohomish County Jail.

Monson is accused of shooting a man in the head without provocation. Brian Jones, 30, was talking on a cellphone in a south Everett apartment when he was shot from behind at close range. The murder trial is scheduled for January.

State doctors have concluded that Monson is competent to stand trial.

His mental state was called into question after he attacked his attorneys. The first incident happened at the start of Monson’s drug trial. He was given a new lawyer. He allegedly attacked that man during a court hearing. The lawyers were not seriously hurt.

Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446; stevick@heraldnet.com.

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