AG’s office asks appeals court to reconsider

Published 9:30 pm Tuesday, June 25, 2013

TACOMA — The Washington state attorney general’s office is asking the state appeals court to reconsider its decision that a man convicted of shooting and wounding a Washington state trooper at Long Beach in 2010 should get a new trial.

In early June, the court overturned Martin Arthur Jones’ attempted murder conviction, saying the trial judge erred by selecting alternate jurors during a court recess instead of in open court.

While the appeals judges didn’t find evidence that the guilty verdict was affected, they said state law gave them no choice but to throw out the conviction.

The Daily News of Longview reported that the attorney general’s office this week asked the appeals court to take another look at its ruling. The state handled prosecution in the case.

Jones was sentenced to 50 years in prison. He remains at the state penitentiary.

Trooper Scott Johnson recovered and was elected Pacific County sheriff.