A high stakes legal fight is underway in Seattle over whether the man accused of killing Central District business owner and youth coach D'Vonne Pickett Jr. is mentally fit to stand trial. A competency proceeding opened Thursday, with defense attorneys arguing he is too mentally ill to help with his own case, while prosecutors counter that it is a strategic attempt to delay a murder trial.
Case background
Ashton Lefall is accused of shooting Pickett outside The Postman on Oct. 19, 2022, in what prosecutors and neighbors have described as a targeted attack. Pickett, a former Seattle University basketball standout, co founded the neighborhood shipping and mailbox shop. The original reporting and charging documents detailed the timeline and related incidents leading up to the shooting, as reported by KIRO 7.
Defense's arguments
Defense attorneys told the judge that Lefall has untreated schizophrenia and does not have the capacity to participate in his own defense. They said he believes his lawyers are "God's robots," which they offered as an example of the kind of delusion that makes standard courtroom questioning unreliable. The defense is asking for a finding of incompetency so that medical treatment, rather than a criminal trial, would be the next step, according to FOX 13 Seattle.
Prosecution's case
Prosecutors reject that characterization and point to recorded phone calls and other behavior that they say show Lefall can follow the proceedings and is capable of intentionally exaggerating or misrepresenting his symptoms. They have said Lefall was tied to a series of mid October incidents, including an Oct. 17 attack in Columbia City and two shootings at drivers in the days before Pickett was killed. Those allegations are laid out in the charging materials, as reported by KIRO 7.
What's next
Judge Melinda Young ordered the competency trial so psychiatric witnesses can testify about Lefall's mental state before any criminal jury is seated. The King County Superior Court calendar lists Lefall's competency hearing on the first degree murder case as beginning April 30, 2026. FOX 13 Seattle reports the bench could issue a final ruling as soon as May 7, 2026.
What competency means
Under Washington law, a defendant is considered incompetent to stand trial if they lack the capacity to understand the nature of the proceedings or to assist in their own defense, and courts must order evaluations when there is "genuine doubt." The statute outlines how those evaluations are conducted, how cases can be paused while treatment is provided, and when inpatient evaluation and restoration services may be used. The full framework is set out in RCW chapter 10.77.
