Hearing set in wake of Turgeon, Applin mistrial
Published 9:00 pm Thursday, May 24, 2001
EVERETT — A Snohomish County judge has scheduled a May 31 hearing to determine what happens next in the case of two former cult members whose first-degree murder trial ended in a hung jury Tuesday.
Questions remain on who will act as attorneys for Christopher Turgeon, 37, and Blaine Applin, 30, in their next trial for the 1998 shooting death of Dan Jess, 40, deputy prosecutor David Kurtz told Judge Joseph Thibodeau on Thursday.
Those matters must be resolved before the second trial can be scheduled.
Turgeon and Applin were both members of a small religious sect called The Gatekeepers. Their lawyers had argued the men were innocent by reason of insanity.
Thibodeau declared a mistrial after jurors deadlocked 11-1, with the majority voting to convict.
Sex offender relocates: A child molester with a history of violent behavior is living at a residence in the 9300 block of 16th Place SE, the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office reported Thursday.
Tronie James Young, 25, was convicted in 1991 of sexually assaulting an 11-year-old female acquaintance on numerous occasions over a two-year period.
In 1997, Young was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon for attacking a male acquaintance that Young claimed owed him $2. Young attacked while the victim’s back was turned, knocking him unconscious, then kicking him in the face. The victim required reconstructive surgery.
Young has other convictions for assault, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.
The sheriff’s office will conduct a meeting about Young and registered sex offender issues at 7 p.m. June 5 at Hillcrest Elementary School, 9315 Fourth St. SE.
Man in hospital after fight: A Thursday morning argument between two men ended with one in the hospital and the other on the run.
Michael Dean Sill, 48, suffered a serious concussion when a 21-year-old Marysville man allegedly punched him, causing him to fall and strike his head on the ground, said Island County Sheriff Mike Hawley.
The incident occurred at about 2:10 a.m. near the intersection of Juniper Beach Road and Ocean Drive. The suspect and a second man were leaving a nearby party and encountered Sill, a neighborhood resident. An argument ensued between Sill and one of the men, ending in the assault, Hawley said. The attacker fled. His companion called police.
Sill was taken to Cascade Valley Hospital in Arlington, then transferred to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. He was in serious condition Thursday afternoon.
City official looking to Montana: City administrator Bill Verwolf is one of two finalists for a similar position in Gillette, Mont.
Verwolf told the city council and Mayor Bob Holman that news Wednesday.
"I’ve been there twice for interviews now and it’s down to me and one other person," Verwolf said on Thursday.
He said it will probably be sometime next week when he’ll know if he gets the job.
Verwolf, 57, who has been city administrator in Monroe for four years, has interviewed elsewhere in Montana in recent years. He wants to move to Montana to be closer to his children and grandchildren, he has said.
In October 1999, he was a finalist for a position in Billings, a city of 120,000 people.
Gillette has a population of about 20,000, compared to Monroe’s 10,000.
Verwolf currently makes $96,000 in Monroe.
From Herald staff reports
