A white man accused of hitting a Black child in an apparent hate crime has been deemed incompetent to stand trial.
A licensed psychologist who administered Paul Jonathan Bittner’s competency evaluation found that he had marginal capacity to understand his charges and didn’t have the capacity to assist his defense lawyers, according to court documents.
Bittner, 42, is accused of hitting an 11-year-old boy when the victim and his schoolmates were walking back from a field trip on June 12. The victim suffered a fractured tooth and an injury to his nose.
He pleaded not guilty to commission of a hate crime, a class C felony, and second-degree assault, a class B felony.
In the competency review, Bittner said he had previously been diagnosed with schizophrenia and the evaluator found he met the criteria for schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type, according to court documents. Bittner denied having a history of substance abuse.
Additionally, he was unable to identify his charges, and when asked repeatedly to do so, he rambled, became enraged and shouted obscenities, according to court documents.
Throughout the evaluation, Bittner was noted as being verbally impulsive, manic, loud and verbally aggressive, according to court documents. It was believed he would be unable to discuss his charges with his lawyers and because of his behavior, there could be a risk of him acting out in “an impulsive manner” while in the courtroom.
“It is unclear how much he understood the charges and allegations, while his refusal to discuss them certainly seems to be a notable factor,” according to court documents.
Bittner was ordered to receive inpatient treatment at Western State Hospital, while in the custody of the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, for 90 days.
Inpatient treatment was one of the recommendations set out by the competency examiner as a way to reduce Bittner’s mental symptoms.
“I do believe there is reasonable probability that he will improve to become competent with ongoing psychiatric treatment,” according to court documents.
Bittner is scheduled to have another competency hearing on Oct. 3.
Annie Todd is CDN’s criminal justice/enterprise reporter; reach her at annietodd@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 130.
