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Page A-2 - Mason County Journal - Thursday, July 3, 2014
Prosecutor: No decision on shooting charges
By NATALIE JOHNSON
natalie@masoncoun corn
The Mason County Prosecu-
tor's Office has not filed charg-
es in a shooting that killed a
14-year-old boy last week.
Ciqala Miller was killed
June 24 after being shot in
the chest with a high-powered
hunting rifle while playing
with another teen.
County Prosecutor Mike
Dorcy said Tuesday he is wait-
ing to review a complete report
from the Mason County Sher-
iffs Office before considering
filing any charges in the case.
According to the Mason
County Sheriffs Office, Miller
was playing with a 13-year-old
boy when the two found fire-
arms in a residence in the 100
block of Twana'Court on the
Skokomish Reservation, 11
miles north of Shelton.
The 13-year-old ran to a
neighbor's house to call 911,
and gave a statement to detec-
tives.
Shelton man pleads guilty, sentenced to 66 years
By NATALIE JOHNSON
natalie@masoncoun com
Alr a day and a half
of testimony in a murder
trial expected to last more
than a week, a Shelton
man changed his plea to
guilty June 26 and was
sentenced Tuesday to more
than 66 years in prison.
Michael Justiniano,
53, pleaded guilty to mur-
der in the first degree,
attempted murder in the
first degree, robbery and
unlawful possession of a
firearm.
"(Justiniano is) really,
I believe, being affected
by this trial. I believe it
is affecting him on an
emotional level," said
Justiniano's attorney, F.
MacNamara Jardine. "I
understand his desire to
put this behind him."
Justiniano entered an
Alford plea, also known
as a Newton plea, which
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means he did not admit
that he committed the
crimes he was charged
with, but believed he
would be convicted by the
prosecution's evidence.
Mason County Pros-
ecutor Mike Dorcy asked
for a sentence of 66 years
in prison. Justiniano was
previously convicted of as-
sault in 1986 and first-de-
gree murder in 1988. He
was sentenced to 30 years
in prison for the murder
charge, but was released
early for good behavior,
Dorcy said.
Justiniano was
charged in the Aug. 13
shooting of George Alan
Harmon, 54. Another
man, Lee Barnard, was
also shot, and testified for
the prosecution June 25.
He identified Justiniano
as the man who shot him
and Harmon.
Jardine of F. MacNa-
mara Jardine & Associ-
ates in Tacoma inter-
rupted the prosecution's
questioning of a member
of the Washington State
Patrol's Crime Scene Re-
sponse Team on June 26
Journal photo by Natalie Johnson
Michael Justiniano pleaded guilty June 26 in
the midst of his first-degree murder trial. He
was sentenced to more than 66 years in prison
Tuesday.
to announce she needed to
confer with the prosecu-
tion.
Since June 25, the
prosecution had ques-
tioned eyewitnesses to the
shooting, law enforcement
officers who responded to
the incident, and a Mason
General Hospital Emer-
gency Department physi-
cian who treated one of the
victims after the shooting.
"He and I had quite a
bit of discussion on wheth-
er this is something that
will benefit him," Jardine
said.
In return for the guilty
plea, Dorcy agreed to re-
duce his sentencing rec-
ommendation by 10 years.
The court was not re-
quired to abide by either
the prosecution's or the
defense's sentencing rec-
ommendation.
However, Justiniano
told the court the sen-
tencing reduction had no
bearing on his decision to
plead guilty.
He said he didn't want
the victim's family to have
to see autopsy and crime
scene photos in court, and
wanted the trial to be
over.
"It don't matter to me,"
Justiniano said. "I want
this to be over."
Jardine said her client
changed his plea because
"it was the right thing to
do. y'
"He believes this is the
last offer he can make to
the family to show any
amends," she said.
Dorcy said he was con-
cerned the Alford plea
was not appropriate be-
cause Justiniano was not
motivated by the sentenc-
ing reduction.
'%Ve didn't have any
discussion on this being
an Alford or Newton plea,"
Dorcy said. "I think an A1-
ford plea is even less appro-
priate if there's no benefit.
We're trying to make sure
that both his rights, and
the conviction is protected."
Jardine said her cli-
ent saw other benefits to
pleading guilty, aside from
the sentencing reduction.
"He is not trying to say
he wasn't a part in any way
shape or form (to the shoot-
ing)," she said. "The benefit
or absence of benefit is a
personal decision of his."
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