Alyssa Schultz-Banchero
Domestic Violence Coordinator
Shoreline / Kenmore Prosecutor's Office
Thank you for keeping us up-to-date regarding James Custer. My one question would be whether or not he had recently appeared to authorities on his own accord...?
Although I made a statement to the Police on the night of Mr Custer's arrest some 50 weeks ago, I feel compelled to clarify my part in the debacle, for the benefit of the Court, if permitted.
1) On December 31, 2020, James Custer informed us that he had tested positive for Coronavirus at his place of work. We made arrangements then to buy food for him.
2) On the night of New Year's Day 2021, as I and my other housemates Bat and Brandon were cooking, Jim exited his room to speak with us directly. Prior to that we had communicated via notes. After a terse dialog, each of us took turns to implore him to return to his room, reasonably fearing possible infection. We explained that we had "compromised immunities," which isn't precise, but nearly all of us at our rental home have co-morbidities or other medical issues. Mine is Diabetes and High Blood Pressure (as well as Dysthymia, which will come up shortly).
To Note: We each of us expressed our terms calmly and repeatedly, especially Brandon Tyler, who phrased things diplomatically. Jim however would have none of it. He more than once referred to us as "Paranoid" and cited his own personal religious convictions for ignoring necessary precautions.
3) Bat was becoming increasingly agitated as this went on, but I had suddenly had enough. It was at this point that I now feel that I had only escalated the conflict, first by yelling, using abusive language, and by marching up to Jim in a confrontational manner (thus exposing myself to the risk of infection).
I'm confident that those who know me can explain to you that this behavior is quite unlike me, and in my defense, I realized afterward that I had been rationing my Duloxetine, an anti-anxiety medication that I take regularly (for Dysthymia). After a year of receiving 30-day supplies each month, I knew ahead of time that I would otherwise run out of the med before I could renew my prescription sometime after the cusp of the new year.
I discussed this with my therapist and my doctor, and both agreed that the drop in dosage could explain the sudden lapse of my normal good nature. Looking back, we should all have returned to our rooms and let our dinners cool.
4) Instead, confronting Jim directly only led the two of us into a fight, although I think now that Jim was merely trying to push me away. For this reason, and given my explanation in section 3, I myself declined to press charges.
After wrestling on the floor, we disengaged, and I went downstairs to remove myself from the state of play. It was shortly thereafter that Jim Custer physically attacked Brandon Tyler, although I was not present as a witness.
5) Those of us that night who were in direct physical contact with Jim immediately self-quarantined until we had all tested negative some days later. Concise details of the incident and its aftermath can be accessed beginning at "Day Zero" at my blog: CovidNotebook.blogspot.com
"From the information that I have, it does not appear that the defendant was taken into custody for his warrant - I think it's much more likely that he contacted the court (on or around 12/13/21) and requested they set a Bench Warrant Quash hearing (12/16/21)."
ReplyDelete"Thank you for the rest of the narrative - I will include it in our office's electronic file."
Alyssa