PORT ANGELES — The arrival of new evidence has delayed the trial-setting hearing for Bobby “B.J.” Smith, a Port Angeles man accused of shooting his next-door neighbor to death last June.
Smith, 59, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Robert Fowler, 63.
Fowler was found shot in the living room of Smith’s residence at 211 Vashon Ave. on June 20.
In a Friday court hearing, defense attorney Alex Stalker told Clallam County Superior Court Judge S. Brooke Taylor that he had just received four CDs of discovery from the state.
Stalker added that he and fellow Clallam Public Defender Harry Gasnick have not reviewed speedy-trial issues with Smith.
The speedy-trial window is set to expire July 24.
Taylor granted Stalker’s motion for a continuance and reset the hearing for next Friday at 9 a.m.
Smith, who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, was found competent to stand trial after a psychological evaluation at Western State Hospital in Lakewood.
After the shooting, Smith phoned 9-1-1 and told police that he had shot Fowler several times with a 45.-caliber Colt pistol until Fowler stopped moving on his living room floor.
An autopsy revealed that Fowler was incapacitated by gunshot wounds before a fatal shot to the brain stem.
Smith, who has maintained his innocence, told investigators that Fowler had demanded money, took a knife off a table and tried to cut him.
Smith is being held in the Clallam County jail on $1 million bond.