A man accused of assaulting a Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputy in Brinnon nearly a year ago has had his trial date moved back from Jan. 15-17 to Feb. 5-6, as his competency to stand trial remains in question.

Glen Jones was arraigned in Jefferson County Superior Court Feb. 3, 2017 and initially held in Jefferson County Jail on two counts of first-degree assault with a deadly weapon. He was later transferred to Western State Hospital for a 90-day competency restoration period and evaluation.

Sheriff’s Deputy Derek Allen was patrolling Brinnon Jan. 29 when he encountered Jones, then 59, driving a small Dodge truck, according to a probable-cause statement filed with Jefferson County Superior Court. An ensuing vehicle chase ended with Jones being subdued using a Taser for allegedly attacking Allen with a claw hammer, according to court records.

Jones has been charged with two counts of assault in the first degree. However, a Nov. 1, 2017 forensic evaluation report from Western State Hospital noted his admittance for a second 90-day competency restoration period and evaluation, in addition to the number of interviews, assessments, consultations, treatments and previous forensic evaluations that Jones underwent since his arrest and incarceration to determine his competency.

In the Nov. 1 forensic evaluation report, licensed psychologist Chadwick Dunning indicated that Jones suffered mental health issues.

In a motion dated Dec. 18, Richard Davies, Jones’ defense attorney, wrote that he found Jones “surprisingly lucid” subsequent to Jones’ release from Western State Hospital and re-incarceration in Jefferson County Jail, and reported that Jones stated he wanted to proceed to trial.

Davies’ Dec. 18 motion requested public funds to hire Seattle-based psychologist Ken Muscatel to determine whether Jones is competent to proceed to trial, on the grounds that Jones “is indigent and cannot afford to hire an expert.”

A court order, authorizing $3,250 in public funds for Muscatel to render his services as an expert, was signed Dec. 19, but by the time Jones appeared in court Jan. 5, Davies informed Jefferson County Superior Court Judge Keith Harper that Muscatel had not yet completed his report on Jones.

As a result, Davies requested, and was granted, a delay for Jones’ competency trial, from its previously scheduled dates of Jan. 16-17 to Feb. 5-6, with a pretrial hearing set for Jan. 26.

Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Anna Phillips raised no objections, saying, “Everyone would benefit if we could wait to see the results of this report.” She did, however, ask the court to extend Jones’ competency restoration period by six months.