PORT ANGELES — A two-week trial for a Silverdale man accused of shooting a Clallam County deputy at a West End beach in 2009 will begin Monday.
Scott Lincoln Davis, 60, is charged with first-degree attempted murder and first-degree assault after Deputy Bill Cortani was wounded during a shootout at a vacant waterfront cabin near Sekiu.
Jury selection in the trial, which is expected to take two weeks, is scheduled in Clallam County Superior Court at the courthouse at 223 E. Fourth St., Port Angeles.
The trial, originally scheduled to begin 15 months ago, was delayed so that Davis, who is still being held at the Clallam County jail in lieu of $500,000 bail, could undergo a series of mental evaluations, which determined that he is competent to stand trial.
Among those expected to testify are Cortani, several other law enforcement officers who responded to the scene, several witnesses from Sekiu who witnessed the events shortly after the shootout and David and Susan Sperling of Redmond whose vacation home was the setting of the event.
According to the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office, Contani, 42, was investigating a trespassing complaint when he encountered Davis, who was squatting at the cabin near Milepost 7 on state Highway 112.
Davis shot Cortani twice with a handgun, hitting Cortani in the arm and hip.
The 18-year veteran deputy took cover behind a beach log and returned fire after Davis retrieved a shotgun.
Davis was hit in the stomach and left arm. Cortani held Davis at gunpoint until backup arrived about 20 minutes later.
Both men were treated at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
Cortani returned to his West End beat soon after the incident.
In May, he received the state Law Enforcement Medal of Honor, the state’s highest law enforcement award.
He was also named the 2009 Law Enforcement Officer of the Year by the Washington Council of Police and Sheriffs and received the National Sheriff’s Association Medal of Valor and Purple Heart.
He received the National Sheriff’s Association Medal of Valor and Purple Heart, and the Medal of Valor award from Clallam County Sheriff Bill Benedict.
Davis retired from the Army with the rank of major in 1991. His resume says that he had worked at the Central Kitsap School District until 2005 when he served as a recreation park manager for the U.S. Navy in the Bremerton area.
It also says that began his service in 1971 and that he had earned a Bronze Star, three Meritorious Service Medals, three Commendation Medals, a Ranger Tab and a Senior Rotary Wing Aviator.
