Competency questioned in stabbing case

SANDPOINT — A criminal case against a stabbing suspect is being put on hold amid questions about his fitness to proceed.

Defense counsel for Shawn Montgomery Harp moved for a mental health evaluation because of hallucinations and a belief that his thoughts have been controlled by others for the last six months, according to documents filed in Bonner County Magistrate Court.

“The foregoing motion is brought because in conversations with Mr. Harp he indicates he has been having hallucinations thinking his children were robots and telecommunicating with his in-laws (who are witnesses to this incident) through his children,” Chief Public Defender Janet Whitney said in court documents.

Judge Debra Heise granted the motion on April 25, court records show.

The evaluation, which is filed under seal, will diagnose Harp’s mental health condition and offer an opinion regarding his capacity to understand the proceedings and assist in his own defense.

A report is due by May 25.

Harp, 34, is charged with attempted murder, operating a motor vehicle without the owner’s consent and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The charges stem from an April 16 incident in Laclede in which Harp suddenly and without apparent explanation stabbed another man in the chest and back during a gathering. Harp fled the scene in the homeowner’s utility terrain vehicle and the alleged victim was rushed to a hospital in a private vehicle, a move which likely saved the man’s life, according to court documents. The man survived a punctured lung in the knife attack.

Harp was found after a overnight manhunt. He declined to speak with investigators after he was apprehended, court records indicate.

Harp’s wife told investigators that her husband made a perplexing remark about whether he was meant to stab the alleged victim.

Harp is being prosecuted as a persistent violator due to prior felony drug convictions in Kootenai County in 2005 and 2006.

If convicted of the charges and the enhancement, Harp could be imprisoned for the rest of his life.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and find him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.