Tronie James Young was defiant in December 2003 when a Snohomish County judge sentenced him to life in prison for a murder and other crimes.
He was equally defiant Tuesday when he returned to Snohomish County to face the same charges that a jury convicted him of three years ago.
Young refused to speak during a brief court hearing Tuesday, declining to answer questions put to him by Superior Court Judge Anita Farris.
He wouldn’t even enter a “not guilty” plea to the amended charges filed in court by deputy prosecutor Craig Matheson. Young’s Everett lawyer, Guss Markwell, entered the plea for him.
Young, 31, also refused to sign any of the paperwork associated with his case.
“He is saying or acknowledging nothing at this point,” Markwell told Farris.
Young was granted a new trial when the state Court of Appeals last year ruled that a trial judge in 2003 revealed too much information to jurors about Young’s past convictions. The jury convicted him of second-degree murder and other crimes.
He came back to Snohomish County for a new second-degree murder trial in the June 2002 shooting death of Nikos Verikoidis, 22, of Everett. Prosecutors allege the shooting death happened during a drug robbery.
Young also is accused of first-degree assault for allegedly shooting a second man, who lived and previously testified against Young. A third allegation is that he was a convicted felon who illegally possessed a firearm.
Farris set Oct. 13 for trial, but Matheson said it’s “highly unlikely to go to trial on schedule.”
Young was convicted of three counts of second-degree assault in the 1990s. The murder conviction was Young’s third serious, violent offense. It meant an automatic sentence of life in prison term under the state’s persistent offender law.
Young faces the same fate if convicted of murder or assault in the new trial, Matheson said.
Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or haley@heraldnet.com.
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