Prosecutors Desk 10-13-10

Posted by on October 13th, 2010 | Categorized as Stevens County Prosecutor Desk

On Thursday afternoon, after a trial that lasted all day, Michael Hazelmyer of Springdale, was found guilty of Felony Harassment-Threats to Kill. He was acquitted of an additional charge of Trespassing. The state was represented by deputy Prosecutor Matt Enzler and Mr. Hazelmyer was represented by Jim Irwin. Just before the trial, Mr. Hazelmyer waived his right to a jury and the matter was heard before Judge Nielson.

The incident occurred in November of 2009. It was a dispute with a neighbor who owns the land over which he claims an easement for a drive way to his home. This easement has been a source of conflict for years, finally escalating into a situation where Mr. Hazelmyer threatened to kill his neighbor and repeated the threat in a call he made to the Washington State Patrol. Sentencing is set for October 26, 2010. He faces 30 to 90 days in the county jail, and is now a convicted felon with the restrictions that go with it.
Bench trials are somewhat unusual, because defendants have a right to a jury trial and they do not usually waive that right. When there is a waiver of jury, it is usually because there is some aspect of the trial which has a legal technicality involved which the defendant believes a judge might better understand and consider important than a jury.

Two weeks ago the office was involved in making a presentation to a District Court Judges Forum that was held in Spokane. The subject of the forum was about new motions that have been filed by Seattle defense attorneys regarding statewide DUIs. The prosecution side of the argument was presented by Deric Martin. He is new to our office, but he is an experienced attorney. He worked for several years in the King County Prosecutor’s office before moving to Spokane County where he worked in the Major Crimes unit. Their loss is our gain. We are happy to have him with us and he reports that he is enjoying getting to know us and how he can be of service here.

Comments are closed.