More charges in knife attack

Suspect’s son and mother arrested for allegedly threatening victim

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The Port Townsend man accused of trying to murder his wife was arraigned on three new charges Friday in Jefferson County Superior Court.

John Lewis Allen, 50, was arrested for allegedly stabbing his wife, 42, in an early morning assault in a mobile home south of Port Townsend Feb. 19.

Allen, already facing an allegation of first-degree assault, was charged in court March 17 with unlawful imprisonment and two counts of violating a no-contact order.

Allen’s mother and teenage son were also arrested and jailed last week for allegedly threatening to further injure the stabbing victim.

Lynette Edith Allen, 70, was arrested Friday afternoon for harassment after she threatened to have her daughter-in-law shot.

John Allen’s son, 17, was arrested three days earlier on a charge of felony harassment/threats to kill after he allegedly left three voicemails with his stepmother.

In the messages, the teen “threatened to kill her in multiple ways, including stabbing her more than his father John Allen did,” according to the statement of probable cause for the boy’s arrest. 

The teenager also allegedly threatened her with “breaking/bashing her skull in, and setting her house on fire, as well as killing her ‘whole redneck family,’” according to the probable cause statement. In the threats, the son also allegedly said he had friends who would harm her and he knew people “who don’t care about getting in trouble.”

Allen’s son was arrested March 14 and taken to the Kitsap Youth Center.

Lynette Allen made her first appearance Monday in Jefferson County Superior Court.

Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Tuppence Macintyre noted that Allen’s son was in jail for allegedly stabbing his wife.

Authorities had previously said the woman had been stabbed at least a dozen times, but Macintyre said Monday it was now estimated that the victim could have been stabbed 28 times.

The two new arrests stem from incidents following the recent release of Allen’s wife from Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where she was taken with life-threatening injuries following the attack.

Allen’s family has been at odds with the victim, according to court documents, because she should not have possession of her husband’s Jeep.

Lynette Allen has said the Jeep was promised to the 17-year-old, and the teenager has told police that his stepmother “had stolen his Jeep.”

Police told Lynette Allen and the teen, who lives with his grandmother, that the Jeep was not considered stolen because it was shared property between a married couple.

Two days following the teen’s arrest, Lynette Allen was taken into custody.

Police were told that the RV where the stabbing had occurred, previously parked on Pelican Place on the south end of Port Townsend, had been moved by Allen to her home on Hastings Avenue.

The stabbing victim also told police that Allen had taken her things out of the RV and put them in a storage unit that had an unknown location. When she has tried to contact Allen to get her things, however, her husband’s mother “just screams at her on the phone until she hangs up.”

The woman also said she has been harassed by the Allen family when she has tried to retrieve her clothing and belongings.

Authorities also claim that Lynette Allen called 911 dispatchers on Friday to say that her nephew was moving into her home and would be “defending it with guns from trespassers.” 

Allen allegedly told an officer that her daughter-in-law “was a trespasser” and repeatedly asked that she be charged for trespassing, and would have to “go through her” to get her possessions.

“Emotions are certainly running high,” Macintyre said during Monday’s court hearing.

She said officers have been in contact with the Allen family for four days, advising them that they could not keep the woman from her belongings.

“But Ms. Allen did what she did,” Macintyre said.

In addition to allegedly threatening to injure her daughter-in-law, Allen is also facing charges of third-degree theft and taking a motor vehicle without permission.

Judge Brandon Mack set Allen’s arraignment on the charges for March 31. She was released on her own personal recognizance.

John Allen appeared in court March 17 on the expanded charges.

Attorney Richard Davies, standing in for Allen’s court-appointed lawyer, said Allen would enter not guilty pleas on the three new charges.

The proceedings were quickly interrupted as they got underway after Allen’s attorney, Lillian Powers, took her place before the bench.

“Your honor, I would like to fire my attorney, please,” Allen said.

Powers said Allen’s desire to change lawyers was something new to her.

“This is my first notice of a request to change counsel,” Powers told the judge.

She said there had not been a breakdown in communication with Allen, or anything else that would justify a switch.

Allen noted he had limited contact with his attorney.

“I do need different counsel. I don’t think I’m being represented here,” Allen said.

Allen said he was in solitude at the jail, with no mail or contact with any other inmates.

“I need different counsel,” Allen said, adding that Powers had talked to another attorney about his case. “I believe this is way above her, I guess, caliber of case. I just think this is beyond her.”

Powers noted that she had spoken to Allen more than once, and added that it was common for more than one attorney to be used to defend a Class A felony.

After repeated interruptions from Allen, the judge said he would not give Allen the option of changing his attorney. The judge also noted that Allen’s ability to communicate with people other than his attorney was limited by the court the previous week. That happened after Allen contacted his son and mother from his jail cell, in the hopes that they would contact the victim in the case.

“The court has no concerns about whether Ms. Powers is capable of handling this caliber of case,” Mack said.

“As she said, it’s common practice to have more than one attorney on a case,” he said. “The fact that you’re not getting a chance to speak to your attorney as much as you’d like doesn’t mean that she hasn’t been working diligently on this case.”