Yellow Pages
MOUNT VERNON — Murder defendant Isaac L. Zamora’s arraignment was again postponed Thursday to give him time to meet with his new attorney.
It was Zamora’s second appearance in two days, and one of the issues before the court was the defendant’s competency to assist in his defense, an issue that remains unresolved.
“You don’t know I’ve done anything,” the 28-year-old Alger man said to the small Skagit County courtroom filled with family members of victims and Zamora’s own family.
Zamora is accused of killing six people and injuring four more Sept. 2. Among the 20 felony counts are six aggravated murder charges, which could make this a death penalty case.
Zamora’s competency — his ability to understand court proceedings — has been on the table for several weeks.
“Suppose you can let me out if I’m not competent to keep killing?” Zamora said during an outburst Thursday. Then he told prosecuting attorney Erik Pedersen, “I couldn’t lever and #### a gun if I wasn’t competent you stupid, fat …”
Until recently, Zamora did not cooperate with his own attorneys, but he agreed to meet with Wesley Richards later in the day. Richards is the newly hired chief criminal deputy attorney with the Skagit County Public Defender’s Office and the lead attorney on Zamora’s case.
Richards has experience with three capital cases through his former position as a public defender in Seattle. Keith Tyne, director of the Skagit County Public Defender’s Office, is assisting.
“What we do know is that Mr. Zamora suffers from mental illness. He’s disruptive in court, and in the past, he’s not been cooperative with counsel,” Richards said.
On Wednesday, Richards had asked that Zamora be allowed to wear a civilian shirt in court rather than jail garb. But on Thursday, when Zamora’s lawyers tried to get Zamora to wear a shirt, he refused and then refused to come back into the courtroom.
Superior Court Judge Michael Rickert asked Richards to try coaxing Zamora out of the jail one more time, and Zamora finally walked in and sat down.
When Pedersen brought up the competency issue, Zamora began rambling.
“Stop insulting me. I’m sitting right here,” he said, before cursing at him.
Richards said he would like to talk with Zamora before he decides if his client is competent. Competency has a “very low threshold,” Richards said. A defendant needs only to understand the charges and be able to assist his attorney.
“It’s not sufficient to know that my client has mental illness,” Richards said.
Rickert said he has obvious reasons to doubt Zamora’s competency but would allow Richards to argue otherwise at the next appearance.
“You can’t test me without my approval,” Zamora said. “You can keep me in jail, but you can’t test me.”
When his own attorney was speaking, Zamora was silent.
At the end of the hearing he told Richards, “See you in court. Bring a blanket.”
Also in court, Rickert outlined some photography rules for the media in its coverage of the case. Defense attorneys are concerned that images of Zamora in jail clothing and shackles could taint a jury by making him look dangerous.
Zamora may only be photographed and filmed from the waist up, so as not to show his hand and ankle cuffs. No photographs or film are allowed of the victims or the public while they are in the courtroom.
However, Rickert lifted a previous order that restricted photos or film of Zamora’s face in court, saying that many images have already circulated.
Tahlia Ganser can be reached at 360-416-2148 or at tganser@skagit valleyherald.com.
