PORT TOWNSEND — A mental health evaluation of a man who confessed to murdering his former father-in-law earlier this year had the prosecution and defense in court Wednesday, a day before the scheduled sentencing.
Ryan Neil Sorensen, 31, of Spanish Fork, Utah is scheduled to be sentenced at 10 a.m. today in Jefferson County Superior Court, 1820 Jefferson St., Port Townsend.
Sorensen pleaded guilty to the April 29 shooting death of Port Hadlock wrecking yard operator Frank M. “Skip” Smith Jr.
Judge Thomas Majhan ruled that the psychological evaluation was admissible for the sentencing hearing despite Prosecuting Attorney Juelie Dalzell’s protest that presentation of the psychological report was poorly timed.
“I wasn’t even aware he had been evaluated,” Dalzell said outside the Superior Courtroom before the hearing Wednesday afternoon.
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The rest of the story appears in the Thursday Peninsula Daily News Jefferson County edition.