Charges against Blaine man suspected of fatal shooting dismissed, jurisdiction cited

BLAINE, Wash. — Wayne Harold Mahar, Sr., 76, faced a first-degree murder charge in Whatcom County Superior Court following an incident in which he was suspected of shooting and killing a neighbor who, according to He had been harassing him. That charge was dropped on March 29 after the court determined that he lacked the capacity to understand the legal proceedings and could not assist in his defense.

The court took into consideration the testimony of two doctors who performed forensic competency evaluations following Mahar’s evaluations and who “came to the same medical conclusion.”

Before the case was dismissed, Mahar was being held at Western State Hospital. He was ordered to remain there for up to 120 hours for further evaluation as part of the order dismissing the charge.