Former escaped psychiatric patient sentenced to prison for probation violation

Anthony Garver, the subject of a two-day manhunt in Spokane County in April after he escaped from Western State Hospital, was sentenced this week to two years in prison for a probation violation.

Garver, also known as Anthony Burke, received the maximum sentence possible after a federal judge ruled that he was competent to deal with his probation violation.

Garver, who has a lengthy history of escape and has been the subject of previous manhunts, has a 2006 conviction for possession of ammunition by a person previously committed to a mental institution. He also made threats to blow up a Department of Social and Health Services office in north Spokane and to detonate a bomb at a public event.

When he was released from prison in 2013, he failed to check in with his probation officer and a warrant was issued for his arrest. A few weeks after his release, he was accused of killing 20-year-old Phillipa S. Evans-Lopez in Snohomish County. His DNA was reportedly found on the electrical cords used to bind the woman, according to court documents.

The murder charge was dismissed without prejudice when Garver was declared incompetent to stand trial and civilly committed to Western State Hospital. Prosecutors said in court this week that Snohomish County will likely refile the murder charge.