Suspect in carjacking that killed 80-year-old dog walker found incompetent to stand trial

SEATTLE — A man accused of a carjacking that ended in the death of an 80-year-old woman was found to be mentally unfit on Thursday to stand trial.

Jahmed Haynes is charged with first-degree murder, assault, and animal cruelty in the carjacking that killed beloved local dogwalker, Ruth Dalton, on the morning of Aug. 21.

Not only was Dalton killed in the attack, but her dog was stabbed to death.

According to court documents, Haynes got into Dalton’s car while she and several dogs were inside. As Haynes was pushing Dalton out, a witness with a bat tried to help, but Haynes pulled a knife.

With Dalton out of the car, Haynes backed up, hitting two other vehicles. Then, as he sped off, he dragged Dalton along with him. She died at the scene.

Haynes, who has eight felony convictions, was arrested the following day.

Police said they identified him by a fingerprint found on Dalton’s phone. When Haynes was arrested, he was carrying a knife that still had blood on it as well as the keys to Dalton’s car, according to police.

Earlier this month, Haynes had a competency evaluation and was found incompetent and unable to stand trial.

After the evaluation, the judge ordered a 90-day restoration. That means he will undergo treatment so he can become competent to stand trial.

After the hearing, we spoke with the victim’s granddaughter, who shared her thoughts about the outcome.

“He was a small, sad little man,” said Melanie Roberts. “I was hoping that we could skip this part of the story, but prosecution let me know a few days ago that this is how it was shaking out, so I was prepared for today, but not happy about it.”

The judge will review Haynes’ progress in December.

NOTE: The judge asked the media not to show Haynes’ face.

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