EVERETT — A Snohomish man who once beat life behind bars has escaped another third strike.
A judge last week sentenced William “Billy” Mulholland to five years in prison for an assault along U.S. 2 in January. Mulholland was accused of using his pickup truck to force another car into oncoming traffic.
The other car was driven by a Monroe woman. She had a passenger in the front seat and two small children, ages 1 and 4, in the back when a stranger in a pickup tried to run her Honda Civic off the road several times. No one was injured.
Prosecutors initially charged Mulholland, 50, with second-degree assault. That could have been his third strike under the state’s Persistent Offender Law and earned him a mandatory life sentence.
Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Edirin Okoloko in October agreed to reduce the charge, saying that Mulholland may have been suffering from a mental health crisis at the time of the incident.
In the weeks leading up to the assault Mulholland had contact with police officers who observed him having “delusional episodes,” Okoloko said.
Mulholland had reported that people were hunting him down. The day of the incident he called 911, saying that he was being chased by someone who was shooting at him. A Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy was responding to that call when he drove by Mulholland and the woman. She flashed her headlights at the deputy. He turned around and pulled over both vehicles.
Mulholland tried to convince the deputy that someone in the Honda shot at him. There was no evidence to support Mulholland’s allegations.
“The defense appeared to have some issues that may have raised a mental health defense at trial,” Okoloko said.
Mulholland pleaded guilty to two counts of third-degree assault, which don’t count as “strike” offenses. As part of the plea, both sides agreed that the sentence for each charge would run consecutive, adding up to five years.
Mulholland will be required to have a mental health evaluation and comply with all treatment recommendations. He will be under the supervision of the state Department of Corrections for two years once he’s released from prison.
Mulholland struck out in the 1990s, shortly after Persistent Offender Law was enacted. He was convicted of assaulting a man during a dispute over a car sale.
The state Court of Appeals ordered a new trial after determining that Mulholland’s lawyer erred by not seeking a jury instruction related to his self-defense claims. Prosecutors eventually dropped the charge, but Mulholland was convicted in federal court for being a felon in possession of a handgun. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
After his release, Mulholland built a name for himself as a prison consultant, giving advice to inmates facing time behind bars.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463, hefley@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @dianahefley
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