A firestorm of controversy has erupted over the county prosecutor’s handling of a bomb threat in Coupeville last month. Island County Prosecutor Greg Banks is facing criticism from his opponent in the race and by Coupeville Town Marshal Lenny Marlborough for not charging a mentally unstable man who threatened to blow himself up.

The issue has become unexpected campaign fodder for November’s election, though all three men are decrying the fact that it seems to have become a campaign issue.

The incident occurred in August when Patrick Reed of Coupeville threatened to blow himself up in his mobile home with a homemade bomb. He also told authorities he had booby trapped his front yard and wanted to blow up the town of Coupeville. He was taken into custody after an eight-hour standoff. It was the second time in two years Reed had a makeshift bomb in his home.

Banks said his office had acted appropriately in not charging Reed with a crime.

“The case is more a question of how to treat the mentally ill,” Banks said.

Reed has mental health issues that need to be addressed by medical professionals, Banks said.

Banks also said he could not prove that Reed intended to harass or harm others, adding that it was more likely Reed meant to harm just himself. He also said Reed would not be able to get the professional help he needs if he is kept behind bars.

Selby, however, said Banks does not know the law well enough to prosecute Reed. Selby also said Banks lacks concern for Reed’s 33 neighbors who had to be evacuated from their homes during the standoff.

“If he would deputize me, I could prosecute the case,” Selby said.

Selby, a former chief deputy for the Island County Prosecutor’s Office, was fired after he announced his intention to run for the prosecutor’s office in April and criticized Banks’ work as county prosecutor.

Coupeville Marshall Lenny Marlborough agrees with Selby that Reed should have been charged with a crime.

“I am upset with Banks’ decision not to prosecute Reed. I worry that the voluntary treatment program Reed is in will not be enough to keep him stable,” Marlborough said.

Marlborough supports Selby for county prosecutor and has given money to Selby’s campaign, according to records on file with the state Public Disclosure Commission.

Marlborough was also a candidate in a tight three-way race for county sheriff at the time of the massive police response to the bomb incident, and made front-page news the week before the primary election with his criticism of Banks’ handling of the bomb case.

Marlborough said he is also upset because he said the prosecutor’s office did not notify him of Reed’s release from jail.

“We feel he should be charged as well as get the medical help he needs,” Marlborough said.

Reed was held in a medical facility in Sedro Wooley for three days immediately after the incident. He was released after doctors determined he was not a danger to himself or others.

He was then arrested by Coupevile police and held in the Island County Jail for three days. A judge determined there was probable cause to keep him in custody on suspicious placement of an explosive and intimation with an explosive.

The explosive device recovered by police after the standoff with Reed was a 3-gallon gas can that was connected to a reading lamp.

Banks did not charge Reed, instead saying that the county would have to prove that Reed acted with malicious intent to get a conviction. Banks said that would be difficult to prove in court.

Selby said the real reason Banks did not press charges is the prosecutor’s inexperience and lack of knowledge of the law.

Banks “refused to prosecute the suspect and allowed him to return to the mobile home park that he threatened to burn down,” Selby said.

“The real reason he decided not to prosecute Reed is inexperience. If he didn’t know how, he should have asked for help,” Selby said.

Selby said intimidation or harassment with an explosive is a Class C felony, and there was “no excuse” for not prosecuting Reed. And Selby said he would not be responding to the Reed incident if Banks had not written a letter to the editor in the Whidbey News-Times that detailed the prosecutor’s reasons for not charging Reed. Banks’ letter was published following Marlborough’s front-page criticism of Banks.

Banks said Selby is using the case for political gain.

“It’s disingenuous for Selby to say things like this since he knows the decision-making process at the prosecutor’s office,” Banks said. He added that Selby himself had to decline cases when he worked in the Island County Prosecutor’s Office because there was no way to get a conviction.

Banks said when the Reed file came in, he and his chief deputy “relied on our combined experience to analyze the entire case package, and make a decision on how to proceed.”

“I stand by that decision,” Banks said.

Banks said he has confidence in the medical professionals who are monitoring Reed.

Marlborough wonders whether a voluntary program is enough.

“He is in a strictly voluntary treatment program now without any legal control to make sure he remains in the program,” Marlborough said.

“I have to trust that Compass Health is going to keep him on an even keel,” Marlborough said.

“I don’t like the fact that it is in the political arena,” Marlborough added.

Marlborough is no longer a candidate for sheriff. He was beaten by Mark Brown in the Republican primary race for sheriff, and was coming in third in early vote tallies.

Selby says the Reed case is symptomatic of what’s happening in the Island County Prosecutor’s Office.

“Right now cases are stacking up in the prosecutor’s office. Banks is plea bargaining them out. He does not know what he is doing,” Selby said.

Banks said he will match Selby’s trial record and beat it any day of the week. Selby’s comments are “armchair quarterbacking” and an act of desperate mudslinging, Banks said.

Banks also pointed out that in eight years as prosecutor he has supervised eight deputy prosecutors and the prosecution of more than 14,000 cases.

“In Island County, I have personally prosecuted more homicide cases than Mr. Selby (five to his three). I have handled more appeals than Mr. Selby (16 to his six), including the appeals of the cases he tried, and the appeals of murder cases that were tried before I took office. In Island County, as the lead trial deputy, with no administrative duties, Mr. Selby has tried nine jury trials,” Banks noted.

“While administering the office, supervising the deputies, and solving big and small problems confronting the justice system, I tried six jury trials, including murder, attempted murder, robbery, and vehicular assault cases. All of my jury trials over those eight years have resulted in guilty verdicts,” Banks added. “He cannot say the same.”

Banks said his office also declines to prosecute fewer cases than other counties.

“The issue is not who has tried more cases. I know attorneys who have tried hundreds of cases, and still don’t know what they are doing in court,” Banks said. “The issue is, who can best carry out the multi-faceted duties of the elected prosecutor.”

Coupeville police did not arrest Reed during a similar incident last year.

The first incident occurred when Reed’s mother asked Coupeville police to do a safety check on her son. According to Marlborough, Reed was threatening suicide in the earlier incident, and was not arrested or charged. Instead, he was taken into custody for a medical evaluation.

Police confiscated a similar homemade bomb and dismantled it.

Gayle Saran can be reached at 221-5300 or gsaran@southwhidbeyrecord.com