PORT ANGELES — A Port Angeles man accused of shooting at a car in which his ex-girlfriend and her friend were sitting appeared in Clallam County Superior Court for a status hearing on Friday.
Judge Brent Basden set the next court date for Brian Lester, 38, for June 3 — a week before his June 9 jury trial is scheduled to start.
Lester was arrested March 27 in the parking lot of the 9/11 Memorial Water Park on Caroline Street. He allegedly pulled Michael Lynch, 43, out of the driver’s seat of a Kia Rio in which Lynch and his friend, Dorothy Hunt-Wood, 45, were sleeping and began punching him and saying he was going to kill him.
Lester allegedly shot at the vehicle after Lynch got back in and attempted to drive away. Police found a bullet hole in the side of the Kia and a bullet lodged in the pillar between the front and rear doors.
Lester is facing charges of attempted first-degree murder, premeditated first-degree murder and harassment.
He has remained in Clallam County Jail on $750,000 bond since March 27.
No-contact orders issued by the court on April 1 directed Lester to have no contact with Hunt-Wood and Lynch and to remain at least 1,000 feet away from their home and workplace. The orders also prohibit Lester from possessing or having access to a firearm.
When asked by Basden if he anticipated the case going to trial, Deputy Prosecutor Steven Johnson said he did not know yet. Clallam County Public Defender Alex Stalker stepped in for Lester’s attorney, Charles Commerree, who was called away by a family emergency.
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Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached by email at paula.hunt@ peninsuladailynews.com.
