PORT ANGELES — Matthew K. McDaniel, who allegedly shoved a Clallam County sheriff’s deputy after he was awakened in his car at Railroad Bridge Park in Sequim shortly before midnight Feb. 3, pleaded not guilty to third-degree assault of a law enforcement officer Friday.
McDaniel, 27, who is listed in court documents as a transient, mistakenly was released from the Clallam County jail Feb. 4.
Held on bond
He turned himself in two days later and is now being held on $10,000 bond.
Jefferson County Superior Court Judge Keith Harper, who presided as a visiting judge Friday, set an April 1 trial for McDaniel, with a status hearing scheduled for March 15.
Defense attorney Loren Oakley of Clallam Public Defender made a motion for McDaniel’s release.
“My client does not have any criminal record,” he said.
“Furthermore, my client denies the allegations against him.”
Third-degree assault is a Class C felony.
“He was erroneously released with absolutely no fault of his own,” Oakley said.
“When he found out that they were looking for him, he turned himself in.”
Clallam County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney John Troberg requested a $20,000 bail at McDaniel’s first court appearance Feb. 7.
Pistol in car
Troberg said the bail was appropriate because a pistol was found in McDaniel’s car after he was arrested and because McDaniel later made threats to law enforcement officers and to himself.
Investigators reported that they found a loaded Springfield XD .40-caliber pistol with 16 rounds of ammunition, along with evidence of alcohol and marijuana, while searching McDaniel’s car after they impounded it.
McDaniel told Harper that he has a concealed-pistol license.
Clallam County Superior Court Judge Erik Rohrer set the $10,000 bond and ordered McDaniel to undergo a mental evaluation at Peninsula Behavioral Health prior to his release.
Harper said there was a mental evaluation in McDaniel’s file, but neither he, Troberg nor Oakley had reviewed it.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
