February 13, 2014 Shelton Mason County Journal | ![]() |
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County asks state for nearlLy $150K for murder case
By NATALIE JOHNSON
natalie@masoncounty.com
Mason County has asked for reim-
bursement from the state for nearly
$150,000 for costs associated with the
aggravated murder trial of Charles
Longshore.
Longshore, 23, has been charged with
aggravated murder in the deaths of Ty-
ler "Red" Drake, 19, and Anitrea "Rexy"
Taber, 37, around 1 a.m. on May 28,
2012.
His case is scheduled to go to trial in
June.
"Is it an extraordinary case, abso-
lutely," Mason County Prosecutor Mike
Dorcy said. 'The biggest tax is just time."
The Washington Senate and House
Ways & Means committees are consider-
ing the request along with other requests
from Clallam, King and Klickitat coun-
ties.
Members of the state Office of Public
Defense, the Washington Association of
Prosecuting Attorneys and the Wash-
ington Association of Sheriffs and Police
Chiefs requested the reimbursements on
behalf of the counties.
According to a letter sent from the
three agencies to the chairs of the state
Senate and House Ways & Means com-
mittees, state law allows for reimburse-
ment of trial costs in aggravated murder
cases if there is "disproportionate fiscal
impact relative to the county criminal
justice budget, efficient use of resources,
and whether the costs were extraordi-
nary and could not be reasonably accom-
modated and anticipated in the normal
budget process."
According to information provided by
Mason County for its request, "Mason
County's criminal justice system was
overwhelmed beginning in 2012, when
10 homicide cases were filed."
This particular homicide trial quali-
fies because Longshore was charged
with aggravated first-degree murder,
meaning he could face a sentence of life
in prison or the death penalty. The Ma-
son County Prosecuto£s Office previous-
ly announced it will not seek the death
penalty.
A first-degree murder charge can be
classified as aggravated for a number of
reasons, Dorcy said, including being a
murder in the commission of a robbery
or burglary, a murder with multiple vic-
tims or a murder committed to cover up
another crime.
Robert W. Raphael, 34, has also been
charged with first-degree murder in the
case. Five other people have been charged
with rendering criminal assistance.
Those cases include one aggravated
murder, seven first-degree murders, one
second-degree murder and one vehicular
homicide. The county also had a murder-
suicide in 2012.
In 2013, three homicide cases were
filed, including two first-degre e murders
and one second-degree murder.
In contrast, between 2008.and 2011,
six homicide cases were filed in the coun-
ty.
According to Mason County's request
for reimbursement, the case has gener-
ated 8,000 pages of evidence and court
documents.
"The discovery is voluminous -- it re-
quired photocopying for all of the differ-
ent co-defendants," Dorcy said. "There's
dozens and dozens and dozens of CDs
and DVDs containing.., discovery."
The Mason County Public Defense
Administration office had to find attor-
neys to represent Longshore, Raphael
and the five people charged with render-
ing criminal assistance.
"It was a pretty arduous task for me
-- basically hours and hours and hours
on the phone," said Mason County Pub-
lic Defense Administrator Susan Serge-
jan.
Not all attorneys are capable of de-
fending clients in murder trials, and
even fewer are willing to defend a client
in a trial in which the death penalty is an
option, Sergojan said.
The cost of public defenders in murder
trials comes from Mason County's homi-
cide fund, rather than the public defense
budget, Sergojan said.
"The direct fiscal impact is not big but
it is extremely difficult to find that many
qualified attorneys who don't have any
conflicts (of interest)," she said.
Most of the county's reimbursement
request covers actual expenses, rather
than the time salaried employees work.
Dorcy said the biggest costs to the Ma-
son County Prosecuto£s Office are yet to
come.
"The biggest hit as far as actual bud-
get cost is when this case goes to trial,"
he said.
Dorcy said he won't know the total
cost of the trial until it is over.
Police seeking suspect in burglary
STAFF REPORT
news@masoncounty.com
The Mason County Sheriffs Office
is seeking a burglary suspect caught
in the act at a Lake Cushman home.
The burglary was commited at 9:56
a.m. on Monday. Surveillance camer-
as inside the home show a man wear-
ing a brown jacket and dark hat, and
a camera outside shows the suspect
with a white Ford van.
To identify the suspect, call the
Sheriffs Office at 427-7761 and refer
to case number 14-01689.
Photo courtesy of Mason County Sheriff Office
Mason County sheriff's deputies are
seeking this suspect in connection
with a burglary near Lake Cushman.
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news@masoncounty.com
sex offender released from prison
County Superior Court for
rape of a child in the third
degree.
Matz is not allowed to
be around minors, and is
under supervision from the
state Department of Cor-
rections.
The Mason County Sher-
iffs Office has assessed
Matz as a Level 3 sex of-
fender, meaning he is at a
high risk to reoffend.
A Level 3 sex offender re-
cently released from prison
has listed his address in the
1100 block of East Phillips
Lake Loop Road.
Jesse Michael Matz, 23,
is required to register as a
sex offender because of a
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Mason County Journal- Thursday, Feb. 13, 2014 - Page A-7
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