Brandon O'Neel's competency to stand trial has been restored, so the Walla Walla man accused of shooting a Washington State Patrol trooper is scheduled to stand trial Tuesday, July 23, according to court documents.
O'Neel is charged with first-degree attempted premeditated murder, first-degree assault with a deadly weapon, attempting to elude police, threatening to bomb with intent to alarm and harassment with threats to kill.
He is accused of shooting Trooper Dean Atkinson Jr. on Sept. 22, 2022, after O'Neel was evicted from his apartment earlier that day.
Court documents show that he was determined to be competent on Tuesday, May 28.
O'Neel was deemed incompetent on April 17, 2023, and was sent to Eastern State Hospital to have his competence restored, according to court records.
His defense attorney, Julie Carlson Straube, filed a motion in March 2023 to have her client's competency assessed because her communications with O'Neel as well as entries in his personal journal showed he operated with a "belief system not based in reality," she said.
O'Neel is accused of stopping his vehicle near Atkinson's patrol vehicle on West Poplar Street, getting out and shooting the trooper multiple times in the hand and face, according to court documents.
Despite being shot in the face and hand, Atkinson drove himself to Providence St. Mary Medical Center and was later transferred to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
Atkinson was discharged Sunday, Oct. 2, 2022, and was escorted across the state back to his Walla Walla home by a convoy of police officers.
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