SPOKANE, Wash. – Western State Hospital escapee Anthony Garver made a federal court appearance on Thursday. A judge ordered him to be transfered to federal custody until a new competency hearing can be held.
The judge expressed reservations about sending Garver back to Western State, where he escaped earlier this month.
"Given Mr. Garver's escape history, what is the most secure facility for him? Clearly, it's not Western State," said the judge.
Currently, Garver is back at the Spokane County Jail. It is up to the Bureau of Prisons to decide where that evaluation will take place. The hope is to have it completed within 30 days, but federal law does allow for extensions, if necessary. Garver's last competency evaluation was done in January, and officials said there was little progress in restoring his competency to stand trial for the murder of a young woman in Everett in 2013. Garver was eventually deemed unfit for trial, and that charge was dismissed.
Garver escaped from Western State Hospital earlier in April, prompting a two-day, state-wide manhunt. It is one of the reasons the judge ordered Garver to a federal facility instead of one in Washington.
No family for Garver was at the hearing.
The Assistant Attorney General told the court that if federal charges were dropped, Garver could be released. This is because of a clerical error that removed the legal and medical hold for Garver in Washington, that could have released him back onto the streets.
The court also considered mental health facilities in Minnesota or North Carolina to conduct potential competency evaluation on Garver.