Competency restoration ordered for Whidbey felony defendant

A 40-year-old North Whidbey man who was facing felony charges in two unusual cases.

A 40-year-old North Whidbey man who was facing felony charges in two unusual cases, as well as a lawsuit, may be suffering from a substance-induced psychotic disorder, according to court documents.

A state psychologist found that James Madden lacked the capacity to assist his attorney with a reasonable degree of rational thinking because of delusional beliefs about his legal situation, according to an evaluation. As a result, a judge in Island County Superior Court ordered that Madden receive in-patient psychiatric treatment to restore his competency.

Madden is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 27 for a competency review hearing.

In the most recent case, prosectors charged Madden in Island County Superior Court on Nov. 13, 2024 with burglary in the first degree and indecent liberties.

A report by a deputy with the Island County Sheriff’s Office states that a resident of the Northgate neighborhood was inside her home, sitting on her bed, when Madden entered through a sliding glass door. Madden was a neighbor and an acquaintance to the victim, but he had not been invited inside, the report states.

Madden sat down on the bed next to the frightened woman and made an obscene comment, the report states. The woman resisted as he groped her and tried to massage her feet; he finally left when the woman’s husband arrived, the deputy wrote.

The alleged victim in the case filed a lawsuit against Madden in November for assault, battery and emotional distress. On Dec. 16, Madden defaulted on the lawsuit.

In the earlier case, prosecutors charged Madden on July 8, 2024 with two counts of malicious mischief, two counts of hit and run of attended vehicle, reckless driving, violation of ignition interlock, driving while license suspended and resisting arrest.

According to court documents, a trooper with the Washington State Patrol responded to a hit-and-run crash on Highway 20 north of Oak Harbor on July 2. The driver of a car reported that the pickup, allegedly driven by Madden, tailgated him as he headed north and then rammed him twice near Monkey Hill Road. After the car turned onto Monkey Hill, the truck sideswiped the car as it passed, stopped, went into reverse and rammed the front of the car, the trooper’s report states.

The car had to be towed from the scene.

Madden then drove the truck to the Banta Gate of the Naval Air Station Whidbey Island base, but he was turned away because his license was suspended and he didn’t have a court-ordered ignition interlock device.

Madden allegedly tried to back into a car at the gate, causing the driver to put the car into reverse and go over spikes at the gate in the wrong direction, which punctured two tires, according to the report. Madden drove off.

On Nov. 25, Judge Christon Skinner signed an order for a competency evaluation.

A Dec. 9 report by Nathan Andrews, a licensed psychologist and forensic evaluator, states that Madden appears to meet the diagnostic criteria for stimulant use disorder, cannabis use disorder and substance-induced psychotic disorder. The report states that he admitted to regularly using methamphetamine and marijuana.

Madden attributed his legal problems to “entities” or “tech ninjas” that were tracking him or monitoring him through Starlink satellites. He told a professional that a light on an extension cord in his home was talking to him and that people could see into his home through infrared technology.

Madden told the psychologist that he wanted his attorney to hire a defense expert to testify about the “entities on the other end of the light.”

“Mr. Madden’s capacity to assist his attorney in his defense was compromised by his fixed delusional beliefs about his legal situation,” Andrews wrote.