Accused Foss gunman found competent to stand trial:
For the third time, Foss High School gunman Douglas S. Chanthabouly has been ruled mentally competent to stand trial.
Chanthabouly is accused of gunning down fellow Foss student Samnang Kok in January of 2007.
Chanthabouly’s defense team will still argue an insanity defense claiming their client has a history of schizophrenia.
If he had such a history why wasn’t anything being done about it?
A tentative trial date has been set for March.
TACOMA: Defendant in killing at Foss High declared competent to stand trial:
Foss High School gunman, Douglas S. Chanthabouly, has been ruled mentally competent to stand trial in the January 2007 shooting death of Samnang Kok.
Previously Chanthabouly had been ruled competent, then incompetent, and now after a review by Western State Hospital doctors, he’s ruled competent once again.
As far as I can recollect no motive has yet to be divulged in the year-and-a-half-old shooting.
Teen charged with fatal Tacoma school shooting found mentally ill:
Douglas S. Chanthabouly is the gunman from Foss High School in Tacoma who fatally shot Samnang Kok last year. The last we heard he was found mentally fit to stand trial. Apparently, something happened between August and now because he’s declared mentally incompetent.
His trial was set to start on February 4th, but that has been pushed back pending the results of a 90-day judge ordered stay at a mental facility.
Teen declared fit for trial in Foss shooting:
The last we heard anything about the shooting at Foss High in Washington State, gunman Douglas S. Chanthabouly was ordered to undergo a psych exam.
A psychiatrist there reported last month that the teen suffers from psychosis, and prescribed a battery of drugs to treat it, according to court documents.
So a judge has ruled that Chanthabouly is fit to stand trial.
Of course, his defense team will still more than likely be pursuing an insanity defense.
A psychiatrist hired by the defense has diagnosed Chanthabouly with a “major mental disorder,” John McNeish, one of the two public defenders assigned to represent the teenager, told Superior Court Judge Ronald Culpepper during a hearing.
McNeish did not say from what mental disease his client suffers or what the possible mental defense would be.
They haven’t picked out their mental disease yet.
To successfully argue insanity, his lawyers would have to convince a judge that Chanthabouly didn’t know the difference between right or wrong or couldn’t perceive the nature and quality of what he was doing when Kok was shot.
Good luck with that.
Police search backpack for clues in shooting:
A teacher at Foss High School, where Douglas Chanthabouly, shot Samnang Kok to death, found a backpack belonging to Chanthabouly two days after the shooting. In turn, the teacher turned the backpack over to police. Police are hoping to find documents related to the motive in the bag.
“The affiant recovered a notebook with “LOC” written inside along with two blue bandanas,” Krause said. “The affiant also observed that the clothes in the closet were mainly blue or black in color. The affiant is aware that the term LOC is commonly associated with a Cambodian gang known as the “Loced Out Crips. Their colors are blue.”
Police are still saying the shooting wasn’t gang related, but I still disagree. I’m still betting that Chanthabouly was trying to impress the gang and saw this as a way of getting in. But that remains to be seen.
Shooting suspect allegedly had gun at school before:
It seems that when Douglas Chanthabouly shot Samnang Kok in the halls of Foss High School, it wasn’t the first time that Chanthabouly had brought a gun to school.
Police say that Chanthabouly’s brother told them that he had previously seen his brother with other guns at previous times. Chanthabouly’s brother also said that Douglas was not in a gang but liked to hang out with gangs and dressed like them. When police searched Chanthabouly’s home, they found three boxes of ammunition, a black carry case for a pistol with a holster and a .38-caliber revolver, notebooks, letters, and two blue bandannas.
So he wasn’t a gang member but a gang-wannabe. It wouldn’t surprise me to hear that he shot Samnang Kok to try to get some kind of respect from the gang.
Police: lack of respect fueled shooting:
Tacoma Detectives are now saying that it was a perceived lack of respect that caused Douglas Chanthabouly to shoot and kill Samnang Kok at Foss High School.
“There was a disagreement over property between the two and some money between the two,” he said. “The suspect felt the victim owed him some money, and by not paying there are some respect issues.”
I’m curious to find out how much the alleged property or money was worth, to see how much Douglas Chanthabouly thought it was worth throwing two lives away.
Police also said that another gun and ammunition were found in Chanthabouly’s home.
Not surprisingly, a mental health “expert” is saying that Chanthabouly has a history of mental illness and may possibly have schizophrenia.
After his arrest, Chanthabouly was interviewed by Penny Hobson of Pierce County Jail’s mental health staff.
Hobson’s report filed Thursday in Pierce County Superior Court said that Chanthabouly was admitted to a psychiatric hospital in Kirkland two years ago after attempting suicide.
Chanthabouly was confused at times, somewhat depressed and having hallucinations, Hobson wrote in her evaluation.
He “appears to have difficulty with concentration” and said he has trouble remembering things since he began suffering psychotic symptoms about two years ago, she wrote.
Chanthabouly “reports ongoing psychotic symptoms that are reduced but not extinguished with medication,” Hobson said. “Based on his history, there may (be) competency concerns – this would obviously be impacted by his attorney’s ability to communicate with him.”
Hobson noted that Chanthabouly’s judgment was within normal limits and “currently appears adequate.” He also had a good understanding of his current circumstances and “does not appear to be imminently at risk,” she said.
There’s your defense.
Teen Pleads Not Guilty In School Shooting Trial:
Suspect’s mom weeps for son, slain student:
Douglas Chanthabouly, the gunman who killed Samnang Kok in the Foss High School shooting, pleaded not guilty yesterday to a charge of first-degree murder. However, no motive is still being offered.
Police are still saying that the shooting was not gang related, but some students of Foss High are saying otherwise. It seems that Kok used to run in gangs prior to his son being born. Kok had an arrest record that contained charges of auto theft and drug possession. Most say that Kok turned his life around after the birth of his son. But as I mentioned, there are those who say the shooting was gang-related…
“I think it’s gang related — just because of the kind of person Sam used to be,” said his friend, Derek Banghart, 19, speculating that the attack might have been retribution for a perceived offense from years ago.
Right now, I’m not so convinced that it was gang-related. Gang shootings have happened in schools before, but something about this doesn’t seem like a gang shooting. But without a motive, that remains to be seen.
The gun Chanthabouly used was stolen from a house in Tacoma in 1999. Police are still trying to determine how the gun came to be in Chanthabouly’s possession.
Washington Teen Refuses to Tell Cops Why He Shot and Killed Fellow Student:
Douglas Chanthabouly, the 18-year-old gunman of the Foss High School shooting, refuses to give a motive behind his killing of Samnang Kok.
A teenager refused to tell police why he shot and killed a fellow student at Henry Foss High School, saying, “I can’t tell you why, I don’t want it in the news,” according to a probable cause statement filed Thursday.
The motive can’t stay secret for long. Any defense attorney worth his salt will have to use it as part of his defense. Plus, what will the school shooting apologists use as a rallying cry unless the motive is made public?
The article also details the shooting itself…
The probable cause statement, written by county Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Ed Murphy, said Chanthabouly “did not know Mr. Kok, but knew of him.” Witnesses told police that Chanthabouly pointed a handgun at Kok, said “What’s up?” and fired a shot into his face, Murphy wrote. Police believe the shot was fired from no more than a foot away.
The shooter stood over the body and fired twice more, hitting him in the lower left side and left buttock, the statement said.
Shot once in the face and then twice more when down. There’s no doubt in my mind that this shooting was very intentional.
I get the feeling that when the motive is known, that it will be something pettier than we’ve ever heard before.
Chief: School shooting victim, suspect acquainted, but motive unknown:
Like the headline says, the Chief of Police Don Ramsdell in Tacoma says that the victim and the shooter in the Tacoma school shooting did know each other, but the motive is still unclear.
However, he says that the shooting does not appear to be gang or racial related. The victim of the shooting, 17-year-old Samnang Kok, left behind a 2-year-old son. The shooter, Douglas Chanthabouly, was arrested without incident, and the police recovered a handgun in the arrest. Chanthabouly did not have a criminal record.