MOUNT VERNON, Wash. - Raymond Barter spends his afternoons roaming the streets of downtown Mount Vernon. We found him in front of the public library and asked him what he's doing for Christmas.
"I'm trying to go back home to Sicily," said Barter.
Barter believes he someone else; a member of the Sicilian Royal Family with money here in the U.S. In truth, Barter is a fugitive from Tampa, Fla.
He came to the attention of police here, when he they found him at a Mount Vernon grocery store harassing customers. When officers ran his record, they discovered he'd been found not guilty by reason of insanity on charges of attempted arson and attempted murder in Florida.
A judge there ordered Barter released on the condition he undergo mental health treatment.
"I think he was supposed to be living in a halfway house or some facility and he walked away." said Skagit County Prosecutor Rich Weyrich. "And all the sudden, he ended up in Mount Vernon."
When authorities in Florida got word, they sent off a warrant for Barter's arrest and asked he be held without bond until he could be extradited.
There was a problem - something called the "Uniform Act for the Extradition of Persons of Unsound Mind". It allows mentally ill people who flee treatment, as in this case, to be extradited. Trouble is, neither Washington nor Florida has adopted the legislation.
Barter was let out of jail.
"It's very dangerous and I do fear for the citizens here." said Rep. Kirk Pearson, R-Sedro-Woolley.
Pearson says his first order of business when the legislature reconvenes is to close this loophole and send Raymond Barter home.
"If Florida wants this person," said Pearson, "we should have the ability to extradite him to Florida."
To add a comment, please register or login.