PORT TOWNSEND — If Michael J. Pierce is convicted of the 2009 murders of Quilcene residents Pat and Janice Yarr in his fourth trial, which begins Monday, then his attorney plans to appeal.
Richard Davies, public defender for the 39-year-old Quilcene man, would use material, including what he termed “outrageous conduct” by Kitsap County jailors, that he presented during a September hearing on his motion to dismiss all charges.
Judge Sally Olsen of Kitsap County Superior Court rejected Davies’ motion to dismiss charges of two counts of first-degree murder and one count each of first-degree burglary, first-degree robbery, first-degree arson, theft of a firearm, second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm and second-degree theft.
“We decided against an interlocutory appeal of the dismissal, but if he is convicted, that material will certainly be part of the appeal,” Davies said Thursday.
Pierce’s fourth trial will begin at 8:30 a.m. at the Kitsap County Superior Courthouse, 617 Division St. in Port Orchard.
Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney Scott Rosekrans said he intends to present the same case as in previous trials and “doesn’t plan to do anything different with the witnesses.”
“We are trying to keep the energy level up,” Rosekrans said.
“The witnesses have been great. They are ready to go and understand the [second] mistrial was beyond our control.”
Pierce was convicted in 2010 by a Jefferson County jury and was serving a life sentence in prison when the state Court of Appeals overturned the verdict in 2012.
The next two retrials, in Jefferson County in July 2013 and Kitsap County this past March, ended in mistrials.
The first mistrial was called because a juror recalled seeing someone who might have been Pierce on the night of the murders; the second after Pierce was not given his anti-psychotic medication while he was in custody in the Kitsap County jail.
Members of the Yarr family have attended all the trials and hearings along with a contingent of Jefferson County sheriff’s personnel.
Pierce’s original conviction was overturned by the state Court of Appeals on the grounds that his constitutional rights were denied after his arrest and that Rosekrans’ closing argument in the original trial represented prosecutorial misconduct.
After an investigation, the Washington State Bar Association later cleared Rosekrans of ethical violations for speculating during closing arguments what the Yarrs and Pierce were thinking during the night of the murders.
After the second mistrial, Jefferson County estimated it had spent more than $263,000 on Pierce’s trials.
The cost of the first trial was about $370,883. All but $45,000 was reimbursed by the state as part of the Extraordinary Criminal Justice Costs Act.
Expenses logged between Jan. 1, 2012, and June 2, 2014, total $166,198, according to an accounting provided by Jefferson County Auditor Donna Eldridge.
That includes attorney’s fees for both sides (salary of the prosecution, direct allocations for defense), witness fees, subpoena costs and travel and administrative fees.
It doesn’t include jury and jail expenses, and some county departments did not log Pierce-related expenses as such because they were no longer being reimbursed by the state, according to County Administrator Philip Morley.
Incarceration costs, which are assessed at $106.47 per day, are more than $60,000.
Jury costs were $900 for the second trial and $9,000 for the third trial, according to the Jefferson County Clerk’s Office.
Medical expenses are not subject to public disclosure and are not included in cost estimates.
The costs for the dismissal hearing have not been determined and are mostly payroll-related, Eldridge said.
The trial is expected to last about three weeks, during which time Rosekrans will be involved in a campaign for the Nov. 4 general election in which he is challenged by Mike Haas, a Port Townsend attorney.
“I don’t see being in a middle of a trial as affecting my re-election campaign,” Rosekrans said.
“My main focus is trying Mr. Pierce and getting the original conviction restored.
“If I had to pick between the two, being re-elected or having him found guilty, I’d pick going to trial and getting the right verdict again.”
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
