He allegedly killed man, dragged his body behind truck. Here’s why charges were dropped
A man accused of fatally shooting a person trying to steal his catalytic converter last year in Lakewood has been found incompetent to stand trial due to mental illness, and charges against him were dropped.
Michael Scott Campbell, 55, was accused of first-degree kidnapping and two counts of second-degree murder. According to charging documents, he was sleeping in his truck last June when he heard a person trying to steal the car part. He saw two legs sticking out from under the vehicle, and he fired at the would-be thief three times.
The defendant told investigators he tied the man’s hands to the hitch of his truck and dragged him through a field, then left him there. The victim was identified as Brent Jalmari Peltomaa, 40. The medical examiner found he died of multiple gunshot wounds.
Charges against Campbell were dismissed in Pierce County Superior Court on Friday after three commitments to Western State Hospital totaling about a year failed to restore his competency. According to a psychological evaluation filed July 18, Campbell was provisionally diagnosed with schizophrenia, and he lacks the capacity to understand the nature of the proceedings or assist in his own defense.
“Since his arrest for the alleged offenses in 2021, he has presented with delusions, disorganized thought processes, pressured speech, an expansive affect, and affective instability, and his delusional beliefs have been associated with distress and irritability,” the evaluation states.
Now, Campbell’s case will go to civil commitment proceedings. If he is released from state custody, charges could be re-filed against him.
According to the evaluation, Campbell’s WSH records show he frequently made statements about being God and said he was known as Adam Jesus Christ in a former life. He claimed to be nearly 4 million years old.
Campbell told evaluators he was born in Oklahoma and raised in a number of places. He said he learned to cook in Moses Lake and moved to Pierce County in 1986, where he worked at fast-food restaurants, and most recently, at an auto wrecking yard. The man said he had been married five times, but that he hadn’t seen his current wife since June 2020. He was living in his truck for several years before his arrest.
Court records show he has a history of arrests for violent offenses, including second-degree attempted assault in 2007 and domestic violence assault, which was later dismissed.
The psychologist wrote in his evaluation that he received outpatient services between 2003 and 2004 for major depressive disorder. In 2007, he received inpatient competency restoration treatment, and he was diagnosed with delusional disorder and an unspecified personality disorder.
The fatal shooting came during a huge spike in reported catalytic converter thefts across Washington that began toward the end of 2020 and continued to worsen throughout most of 2021.
It took place about 3:45 a.m. June 12 in a parking lot near Sharondale Street Southwest and Halcyon Road Southwest.
According to the declaration for determination of probable cause, a truck driver was awakened by a noise and saw Campbell dragging something behind his Ford F-150 through the parking lot and into a nearby field. He called 911 and narrated what he saw to dispatchers.
A Lakewood Police Department officer responded to the area and found Peltomaa’s body in the field with two gunshot wounds. According to the document, Campbell drove by while police were interviewing the witness. Officers pulled him over and took him into custody.
A large amount of blood was found in the parking lot and in the victim’s truck. Campbell’s truck tires had grass on them consistent with the grass in the field. Inside, police found a gun and rope matching what was used to tie up Peltomaa, records say.
