EVERETT — Jurors who are deciding whether a 22-year-old Everett man is guilty of assaulting two police officers were sent home Thursday afternoon. They will resume deliberating today, Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Gerald Knight said.
The panel deliberated most of the day but could not come to a verdict in the case of Justin James Chase, who refused to put down a loaded shotgun Oct. 13, 2001, and was shot by officers.
Defense attorney Bill Jaquette said his client may have acted stupidly, but he did not intend to point the loaded weapon in the direction of officers. He was about to drop the weapon when he was shot, he said.
Deputy prosecutor Dave Hiltner said Chase put his finger in the trigger guard and started to move into an offensive position, which makes him guilty of assault.
Mountlake Terrace
House fire: A candle left unattended apparently ignited a fire that caused $150,000 damage to a home Thursday morning.
Neighbors reported the fire about 9:50 a.m. in the 4400 block of 242nd Place SW, Snohomish County Fire District No. 1 spokeswoman Leslie Hynes said. No one was home at the time, and there were no injuries.
Firefighters arrived to find flames from the back of the house and heavy smoke pouring from the gable vents. Crews from Mountlake Terrace, Fire District 1, Lynnwood and Edmonds worked together to bring the fire under control in about 25 minutes, she said.
The fire began in a downstairs bedroom of the split-level home. The fire left the house uninhabitable.
Support 7, a unit of the fire district that helps fire victims, and family members are assisting the family of four to find a place to stay. The family has insurance to cover the loss, Hynes said.
From Herald staff reports
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