TACOMA – The five Makah men accused of breaking the Marine Mammal Protection Act when they killed a whale in the Strait of Juan de Fuca will go to trial on March 18.
Because none of the defendants’ court-appointed attorneys waived the right to a trial by jury, it is expected to be a jury trial.
Three days were scheduled for the proceedings in U.S. District Court in Tacoma.
Each of the men – Frankie Gonzales, Wayne Johnson, Andrew Noel, Parker and William Secor Sr., all of Neah Bay – faces three federal misdemeanor charges:
Each count carries a maximum fine of $100,000, a one-year prison term and a year of parole.
