PORT ORCHARD –– A hearing on a motion to dismiss double-murder charges against Michael J. Pierce of Quilcene is extending into a fourth day after testimony from psychological experts failed to conclude again Tuesday.
“I want everybody to know, in no uncertain terms, this is ending tomorrow,” Kitsap County Superior Court Judge Sally Olsen said after Tuesday’s testimony.
Asks for dismissal
Richard Davies of Port Townsend, attorney for Pierce, 38, of Quilcene, has asked the court to dismiss the charges, arguing that a pair of mistrials in Jefferson County’s second effort to prosecute him for the murders of Quilcene farm couple Pat and Janice Yarr in March 2009 ended because of egregious errors by the state.
Pierce was convicted by a Jefferson County jury in 2010 of two counts of first-degree murder as well as 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.
He was serving a life sentence in prison when the state Court of Appeals overturned the conviction in 2012.
Pierce has been tried two times since, once in Jefferson County and once in Kitsap County, with both ending in mistrials.
A third retrial is set Oct. 9 in Kitsap County Superior Court.
Olsen has been hearing testimony on Davies’ motion since Friday.
‘Barbaric’ treatment
Davies cited “barbaric” treatment by Kitsap County when Pierce’s psychotropic medications were discontinued while he was jailed for the Kitsap County retrial.
After discovering medications were denied Pierce from March 7-10, Olsen ruled his right to a fair trial had been “impossibly infringed” and declared a mistrial.
On the stand Tuesday was Dr. Kapil Chopra, a psychiatrist from Sound Mental Health who contracts with Conmed to serve as Kitsap County’s jail psychiatrist.
Chopra will continue his testimony at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday in Kitsap County Superior Court, 614 N. Division St., Port Orchard.
After appearing in an orange jumpsuit through the first three days of the hearing, Pierce requested to attend Wednesday morning’s hearing via online camera, a request Olsen granted.
Pierce was given a 14-day “bridge” prescription for anti-psychotic medications by Kitsap County jailers after he arrived there for the retrial in February, Chopra said.
Medications were stopped March 7 after the “bridge” prescription expired, he said, but he was not aware of that until a mental health assessment with Pierce on March 11.
‘Not able to follow up’
Inmates needing treatment for mental health issues are typically first seen by a licensed nurse practitioner after being booked, who then sets up assessments with Chopra, who visits the Kitsap County jail Tuesdays.
He originally was scheduled to see Pierce on March 4.
“Unfortunately, Mr. Pierce was in court, and I was not able to follow up with him,” Chopra said Tuesday.
Chopra said he never received a phone call to extend Pierce’s medication after the bridge expired March 7, as should have been done, he said, under Conmed’s policies.
“Had the policies, procedures and protocol been followed correctly, the way they are, Mr. Pierce would have been able to have his medications continued until he was seen by me,” Chopra said.
He said patients receiving medication to control psychosis should not have their medications cut off.
“We recommend slowly tapering off the medications,” Chopra said.
Background
The state Court of Appeals overturned Pierce’s conviction on the grounds that his constitutional rights were denied after his arrest and that Prosecuting Attorney Scott 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.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Joe Smillie can be reached at 360-681-2390, ext. 5052, or at jsmillie@peninsuladailynews.com.
