PORT ANGELES — A tentative trial date for a Sequim man’s hit-and-run case has been set to begin Aug. 25 in Clallam County Superior Court.
Judge Elizabeth Stanley scheduled the six-day trial for Cole William Douglas, 22, but lawyers agreed that, due to the amount of discovery in the case, that start date will likely need to be extended, according to court documents.
A status hearing is set for 1 p.m. July 18.
Douglas, represented by attorney William Payne, pleaded not guilty on June 6 to felony charges of hit-and-run with injury and vehicular assault. He could face up to 10 years in prison and/or a $20,000 in fine.
He is accused of a hit-and-run incident that seriously injured Colton Dufour, 13, while the boy was skateboarding with friends about 9 p.m. March 31 on the 600 block of West Spruce Street behind Safeway. Dufour was struck from behind by a vehicle and now faces months of rehabilitation therapy, according to his mother.
At Douglas’ initial hearing on May 27, Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Nichols, filling in for Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Steven Johnson, requested bail be set at $250,000 due to a concern of a flight risk.
Douglas was arrested on May 21 in Oklahoma and flown back to Clallam County, and he was booked into the Clallam County Jail on May 23.
Payne said on May 27 that Douglas is from Sequim, has family there that he can stay with, and that the court should consider an ankle bracelet with tracking for him.
“He will appear as ordered,” he said.
When asked by Judge Brent Basden, Nichols said Douglas didn’t have a criminal history.
Basden said he had some concern about Douglas not appearing in court, but he was unsure if Douglas was contacted and asked to return voluntarily from Oklahoma.
Basden set bail at $20,000, which Douglas posted on May 29.
The vehicle suspected to have been involved in the incident, a 1996 Lexus sedan, also was located in Muskogee, Okla.
A Washington state warrant was issued for Douglas’ arrest on April 8, and a nationwide warrant was issued on May 8.
________
Matthew Nash is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. He can be reached by email at matthew.nash@sequimgazette.com.
