PORT ANGELES — Dennis M. Bauer, Kallie Ann Letellier and Ryan Ward, all charged with three counts of aggravated first-degree murder in the Dec. 26 shooting deaths of Darrell Iverson, Jordan Iverson and Tiffany May, pleaded not guilty Friday.
The Iversons’ bodies were found New Year’s Eve by Darrell Iverson’s sister, Wendy Peterson, at his home at 52 Bear Meadow Road, court records say. Peterson is the superintendent of the Clallam County jail.
May’s body was found New Year’s Day in a locked shed.
All three had been shot multiple times, including in the head.
Bauer, also charged with attempted murder, is scheduled to have his trial March 25, 2020. Ward’s trial is scheduled for Feb. 3, 2020 and Letellier’s trial is set to begin Jan. 6, 2020.
The prosecution and attorneys for each of the defendants agreed that because of the amount of evidence and the complexity of the case, it should be delayed until at least early 2020.
Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Michele Devlin argued in court Friday that due to the limited size of the Clallam County jail, housing all three defendants in Clallam County makes it impossible to keep them separated and they would eventually come in contact with witnesses in the case.
She said that if Bauer is held “a couple counties away” the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office would transfer him to Clallam County for court.
Devlin also said that the probable cause statements for each of them include the names of about 30 people, many of who are “frequent flyers” at the jail.
Ward’s did not object to his transfer, but attorney Karen Unger said the transfer would limit her ability to effectively represent Bauer.
Letellier will remain in the Clallam Count jail.
Chief Civil Deputy Prosecuting Attorney David Alvarez said transferring defendants to other jails does not hamper their ability to have adequate representation.
Alvarez said Bauer has talked with Unger four times by phone and twice in person. He said she would still be able to contact him by phone if he is transferred to another jail.
“I think it’s creepy my contacts with my client have been monitored,” Unger told Erickson. “That’s creepy and inappropriate.”
Alvarez said that the calls were not recorded.
Unger said that transferring Bauer to another jail would require her to drive to that jail to meet with him. With “thousands” of pages of discovery to go through, she said the distance would make it difficult to adequately represent him.
“How is it easy for me to have access to my client if he’s in a jail that’s a minimum of an hour and a half away,” Unger said. “How am I going to be able to effectively represent him?”
Alvarez also said that because the jail superintendent’s brother is one of the victims, seeing the defendants in the jail is a constant reminder of the deaths.
He said Peterson’s relation to the victims could open the county up to complaints, even if they are unfounded.
Alvarez cited case law he said allows for the transfer of inmates before trial, but Unger believed he misstated the findings in that case.
Erickson ruled in favor of the transfer, but told Unger that if access to council becomes an issue she may reconsider.
Unger said she will file a motion to reconsider.
Devlin said that for security reasons she was not saying where the two would be transferred to.
________
Reporter Jesse Major can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at jmajor@peninsuladailynews.com.
