TACOMA — A Pierce County Superior Court judge found probable cause to transfer a sex offender to McNeil Island after the Washington Attorney General’s Office filed a petition to prevent his release to the community.
Andrew A. Vejar, 46, was convicted of first-degree rape, first-degree attempted rape, and first-degree kidnapping in 1999. He pleaded guilty in May 2023 to three counts of fourth-degree assault against a 22-year-old woman and two minor girls. Vejar completed his sentence and was eligible for release into the community on Aug. 3, 2023, but Ferguson petitioned to have him committed, alleging that he is mentally ill and sexually dangerous and should not be released.
Washington’s Sexually Violent Predator law allows the Attorney General’s Office to petition for the civil commitment of violent sex offenders who, because of a mental abnormality or personality disorder, are proven likely to engage in predatory acts of sexual violence if released.
A Pierce County Superior Court judge ruled on Aug. 3, 2023, there was no probable cause to commit Vejar and ordered his release. The Attorney General’s Sexually Violent Predator Unit immediately filed an appeal to that decision. On Feb. 13, an appeals court commissioner overturned the judge’s ruling, sending the case back to Pierce County Superior Court.
On June 28, a Pierce County Superior Court judge found the Attorney General’s Office had shown probable cause and ordered Vejar confined to the Special Commitment Center on McNeil Island pending a trial set for May 5, 2025. Vejar has remained in custody through the appeals process.
The civil commitment petition consists of allegations that have not yet been proven in a court of law. The Attorney General’s Office still must prove the allegations in court beyond a reasonable doubt.
Assistant Attorneys General Colette Sampson and Kerry Werner and Paralegals Lissa Treadway, Kelly Hadsell and Rebecca Hendrickson are handling the case for the state.
Washington’s Sexually Violent Predator law allows the Attorney General’s Office to petition for the civil commitment of violent sex offenders who, because of a mental abnormality or personality disorder, are proven likely to engage in predatory acts of sexual violence if released.
In 1990, Washington became the first state in the nation to pass a law permitting involuntary civil commitment of sex offenders after they serve their criminal sentences. The Sexually Violent Predator Unit was established shortly thereafter.
The unit is responsible for prosecuting sex predator cases for 38 of Washington’s 39 counties (King County being the exception). As of late June, 124 sexually violent predators are in the state’s Special Commitment Program.
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