PORT TOWNSEND — Ryan Neil Sorensen pleaded innocent Friday to five charges in the slaying of Port Hadlock business owner Frank M. “Skip” Smith Jr. 62.
Kitsap County Superior Court Judge Anna M. Laurie, who was trading places with Jefferson County Judge Thomas J. Majhan, set a July 14 date for the six-day trial in the case. Preliminary hearings are scheduled May 27 and July 3.
Sorensen’s attorney, Richard Davies, filed a motion of prejudice against Majhan, saying Sorensen wouldn’t be able to get a fair and impartial trial from the Jefferson County jurist.
The motion will be ruled on by Majhan in the near future.
Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney Juelie Dalzell amended charges against Sorensen, of Spanish Fork, Utah, during Friday’s court session.
She added two counts of first-degree kidnapping and two counts of second-assault to the original charge of premeditated first-degree murder.
Dalzell also added a firearms enhancement to each of the five counts, which carries a mandatory three-year sentence on conviction.
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