Port Townsend: Killer will appeal his 84.5-year sentence

PORT HADLOCK — Less than a week after being sentenced to nearly 85 years in prison, the killer of Port Hadlock towing company owner Frank M. “Skip” Smith Jr. has appealed his sentence.

Ryan Neil Sorensen, 31, claims the sentence range guideline used in his case was erroneously calculated, according to court records filed by attorney Richard Davies on Tuesday.

A second reason cited for the appeal is an ongoing objection to Jefferson County Superior Court Judge Thomas Majhan presiding over the case.

Majhan twice refused to step down, ruling that the request was untimely.

Later, the state Court of Appeals upheld Majhan’s decision.

Now the same appellate court will take up the issue again, and decide if Sorensen’s sentence for the April murder is too high.

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The rest of the story appears in the Wednesday Peninsula Daily News Jefferson County edition.

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