Port Townsend: Quilcene man acquitted of murder

Published 12:01 am Sunday, June 30, 2002

A Quilcene man who said he was intervening in a violent dispute between a husband and wife was acquitted of murder in Jefferson County Superior Court.

The jury deliberated for four hours and then found Gary L. Middleton Sr. innocent of first- and second-degree murder in the shooting death of Douglas “Tony” Knight outside a Quilcene motel April 28.

“My peers took care of me,” said Middleton, 61. “The jury system worked.

“Jurors have a habit of finding the truth.”

Several jury members said they believed there was reasonable doubt whether Middleton intended to kill Knight, 45, also of Quilcene, during a confrontation between the two men outside the Maple Grove Motel.

————————-

The rest of the story appears in the Sunday Peninsula Daily News. Click on “Subscribe” to get the PDN delivered to your home or office.