In the Matter of the Personal Restraint of: Takoda W.W. Picker

CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedAugust 7, 2025
Docket40334-3
StatusUnpublished

This text of In the Matter of the Personal Restraint of: Takoda W.W. Picker (In the Matter of the Personal Restraint of: Takoda W.W. Picker) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In the Matter of the Personal Restraint of: Takoda W.W. Picker, (Wash. Ct. App. 2025).

Opinion

FILED AUGUST 7, 2025 In the Office of the Clerk of Court WA State Court of Appeals, Division III

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON DIVISION THREE

In the Matter of the Personal Restraint of ) ) No. 40334-3-III Takoda W.W. Picker, ) ) Petitioner. ) ) ) UNPUBLISHED OPINION )

COONEY, J. — Takoda Picker was charged with two counts of assault in the

second degree. He was later found not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI) and

committed to the care and custody of the Secretary of the Department of Social and

Health Services (Department). More than seven years later, Mr. Picker filed a “Motion

for Relief from Judgment of Sentence” under CrR 7.8. The superior court transferred the

motion to this court as a personal restraint petition (PRP).

In his PRP, Mr. Picker claims (1) he received ineffective assistance from his trial

counsel; (2) his plea of NGRI was not made knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently;

(3) he was denied protections for those with developmental disabilities; and (4) the No. 40334-3-III In re Pers. Restraint of Picker

probable cause affidavit was tainted and excluded key evidence. In response, the State

challenges the timeliness of Mr. Picker’s PRP.

We deem Mr. Picker’s PRP timely and deny the petition on the merits.

BACKGROUND

On August 17, 2016, the Asotin County Sheriff’s Office responded to a 911

call from Jesus Yzaguirre who alleged his brother, Takoda Picker, had assaulted him.

Sheriff’s Deputy Nathan Conley responded and interviewed Mr. Yzaguirre and

Mr. Picker’s sister, Tekiyah Kugler. Deputy Conley initially misidentified Ms. Kugler as

Mr. Picker’s other sister, Tasheena Picker. The misidentification was memorialized in

Deputy Conley’s probable cause affidavit, dated August 18, 2016. Deputy Conley

promptly recognized his error and filed a “Supplemental Narrative” the next day. In it,

Deputy Conley wrote:

Previously listed as the female witness, identified as Picker, Tasheena . . . is an incorrect identification. I later determined the correct identification of the present female witness to the incident, identified as Kugler, Tekiyah…. For the purposes of the original Probable Cause Narrative, all mentions of Picker, Tasheena are incorrect.

Second Response to PRP at 23. 1

1 The State provided the “Supplemental Investigation Narrative” as an attachment to its response brief.

2 No. 40334-3-III In re Pers. Restraint of Picker

In the probable cause affidavit, Deputy Conley states that Mr. Yzaguirre told him

Mr. Picker had “aggressed at him” in an “aggressive and confrontational demeanor and

posture” while armed with a baseball bat in one hand and a knife in the other. Clerk’s

Papers (CP) at 4. Mr. Yzaguirre further reported that Mr. Picker raised the bat toward

him and placed the knife within two inches of his face.

Mr. Picker was charged with two counts of assault in the second degree on

August 18, 2016. Two weeks later, the court ordered the Department to evaluate

Mr. Picker’s competency. Straightaway, Michael Morrison, PhD., in conjunction

with developmental disabilities professional, Randall Strandquist, PsyD., evaluated

Mr. Picker. In a report dated September 16, 2016, Dr. Morrison and Dr. Strandquist

concluded that Mr. Picker lacked the capacity to understand the proceedings against him

and to assist in his own defense. They noted there was “very strong support for the

conclusion that [Mr. Picker] is not developmentally disabled” and “did not find any basis

for concluding that

[Mr. Picker] has a developmental disorder.” CP at 47. In reliance on this evaluation,

the court issued a 90-day stay of proceedings and ordered the Department to provide

Mr. Picker with competency restoration treatment.

Dr. Morrison later re-evaluated Mr. Picker. In a report dated December 12, 2016,

Dr. Morrison opined that Mr. Picker lacked the capacity to understand the proceedings

against him and to assist in his own defense. Based on Dr. Morrison’s evaluation, the

3 No. 40334-3-III In re Pers. Restraint of Picker

court issued a second 90-day stay of proceedings and ordered the Department to provide

Dr. Morrison conducted a third evaluation of Mr. Picker in February 2017. In a

report dated March 1, 2017, Dr. Morrison concluded that Mr. Picker “is currently

adequately stabilized by treatment with psychiatric medications and . . . is functioning

well enough to return to court to resolve the pending criminal case.” CP at 70. Based on

Dr. Morrison’s evaluation, and by agreement of the parties, the court found Mr. Picker

competent to proceed to trial. Concurrent to the finding of competency, the court ordered

the Department to evaluate Mr. Picker’s mental state and sanity.

On May 18, 2017, Mr. Picker filed a motion for acquittal by reason of insanity.

Relying on the evaluations of Richard Gallaher, PhD., and Christina Zampich, PsyD., the

court found Mr. Picker was competent to proceed with a plea of NGRI, was legally

insane at the time of the offenses, and acquitted him of both counts. The court committed

Mr. Picker “to the care and custody of the Secretary of the Department of Social and

Health Services for treatment at a state mental hospital for the criminally insane.” CP at

33.

On February 5, 2024, Mr. Picker filed a “Motion for Relief from Judgment of

Sentence,” accompanied by the “Declaration of Tasheena Picker in Support of

Defendant’s CrR 7.8 Motion to Vacate Judgment and Sentence.” In her declaration,

Ms. Picker states she “did not learn what the police reports about my brother’s arrest said

4 No. 40334-3-III In re Pers. Restraint of Picker

until recently” and “was shocked to learn that the police report contains inaccurate

information and appears to have manufactured quotes that I never said.” Dec. of Picker

at 1-2. Ms. Picker claims she “witnessed what happened after the police were called and

just before they arrived, but [she] did not witness any of the events contained in the

police report.” Dec. of Picker at 2. Ms. Picker asserts the deputies “wrote a report that

seemed to suit their needs by lying about [her] statements.” Id.

Ultimately, the trial court determined Mr. Picker’s motion was time barred under

RCW 10.73.090, that Mr. Picker had not made a substantial showing that he was entitled

to relief, and resolution of the motion would not require a factual hearing. The court

transferred Mr. Picker’s motion to this court as a PRP.

ANALYSIS

A PRP is an extraordinary form of relief that requires the petitioner to “meet a

high standard before this court will disturb an otherwise settled judgment.” In re Pers.

Restraint of Coats, 173 Wn.2d 123, 132, 267 P.3d 324 (2011). The petitioner in a PRP

bears the burden of demonstrating error and, if the error is constitutional, that the

petitioner is “actually and substantially prejudiced.” Id. If not constitutional, the

petitioner must show the error represents a “fundamental defect . . . that inherently

resulted in a complete miscarriage of justice.” In re Pers. Restraint of Finstad, 177

Wn.2d 501, 506, 301 P.3d 450 (2013). These heightened standards of review apply to all

issues for which a petitioner had a previous opportunity for judicial review and are rooted

5 No. 40334-3-III In re Pers. Restraint of Picker

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Brady v. Maryland
373 U.S. 83 (Supreme Court, 1963)
Strickland v. Washington
466 U.S. 668 (Supreme Court, 1984)
Kimmelman v. Morrison
477 U.S. 365 (Supreme Court, 1986)
State v. Elliott
785 P.2d 440 (Washington Supreme Court, 1990)
Matter of Personal Restraint of Vega
823 P.2d 1111 (Washington Supreme Court, 1992)
Matter of Personal Restraint of Rice
828 P.2d 1086 (Washington Supreme Court, 1992)
State v. McNeair
944 P.2d 1099 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 1997)
State v. Hahn
996 P.2d 1125 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2000)
State v. McFarland
899 P.2d 1251 (Washington Supreme Court, 1995)
In Re the Personal Restraint of Barr
684 P.2d 712 (Washington Supreme Court, 1984)
West v. Thurston County
275 P.3d 1200 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2012)
State v. Reichenbach
101 P.3d 80 (Washington Supreme Court, 2004)
State v. Nichols
162 P.3d 1122 (Washington Supreme Court, 2007)
City of Spokane v. White
10 P.3d 1095 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2000)
Milligan v. Thompson
42 P.3d 418 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2002)
State v. Kyllo
215 P.3d 177 (Washington Supreme Court, 2009)
State v. Schwab
167 P.3d 1225 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2007)
State v. Lopez
410 P.3d 1117 (Washington Supreme Court, 2018)
Shumway v. Payne
964 P.2d 349 (Washington Supreme Court, 1998)
State v. Reichenbach
153 Wash. 2d 126 (Washington Supreme Court, 2004)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
In the Matter of the Personal Restraint of: Takoda W.W. Picker, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-the-matter-of-the-personal-restraint-of-takoda-ww-picker-washctapp-2025.