Bank robbery set for trial in September

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, August 5, 2026

PORT ANGELES — A trial for a Jefferson County man facing charges related to a Sequim bank robbery last year is scheduled to start in September.

Clallam County Superior Court Judge Brent Basden set an eight-day trial for Dale Jaff, 59, of Port Hadlock to start at 9 a.m. Sept. 8. A status hearing is set for 9 a.m. Aug. 18.

Jaff faces felony first-degree robbery charges as well as second-degree theft and second-degree assault related to a robbery at Kitsap Bank in April 2025. He is accused of stealing about $4,000 in cash and spraying bear spray within the bank.

Jaff’s attorney Alex Stalker previously sought an opinion on whether Jaff has a diminished capacity for his defense.

Dr. Shamyka Sutton reported on Feb. 8 that Jaff had unspecified mood disorder with mild anxious distress, cannabis use disorder in early remission in a controlled environment, and opioid use disorder in sustained remission on maintenance therapy in controlled environment.

Basden wrote on July 15 that a jury will determine whether Jaff acted with intent, and that Sutton’s testimony is irrelevant, according to court documents. He wrote that Sutton states that she “cannot say with a reasonable degree of clinical certainty that the symptoms of mental illness did in fact impair (his) capacity to form the requisite ‘intent of the alleged offenses, but it is conceivable, and consistent with current literature about behavior that is influenced by desperation and fear.’”

“Here, the court additionally finds the testimony inadmissible because (Jaff’s) expert does not say that his ability to act with intent to accomplish an act which constituted a crime was diminished,” Basden wrote.

“Rather, the expert testifies that it is possible that (Jaff’s) intentional acts were otherwise motivated.”

Parrish case on hold

Attorneys for Ekaterina Parrish, 48, await a mental health referral before her case can move forward. Parrish is accused of attempting to kill her children in 2022. She was released from Western State Hospital in June and transferred to the Clallam County Jail after her competency was restored.

Parrish has major depressive disorder but now has the capacity to understand the nature of the legal proceedings and the capacity to assist in her own defense, according to a May 21 competency evaluation report from Dr. Patricia McCormick.

“Parrish appears capable of independently meeting her basic needs for health and safety (and) she does not appear to present an imminent risk of harm to others,” McCormick wrote.

“However, she demonstrates an imminent risk to self (because she) indicated she would be more inclined to attempt suicide once discharged from (Western State Hospital) and was no longer on constant suicide monitoring.”

Parrish appeared in Clallam County Superior Court on July 22, when her attorney Emily Gause asked to have an extension as she awaits a designated crisis responder referral for Parrish.

Judge Simon Barnhart set a status hearing for 9 a.m. today.

Parrish was arrested on Dec. 13, 2022, after she allegedly drove her children down an embankment in the 200 block of Hillside Drive in Sequim. The vehicle rolled over and her sons sustained minor injuries in the wreck. One boy told a 911 dispatcher that his mother intentionally tried to kill them, according to court documents.

This is the third time Parrish’s competency has been restored at Western State Hospital since she was arrested.

Rape trial postponed

A trial date has been pushed to November for a Sequim man accused of raping a Jefferson County woman and sharing explicit photos of her.

Attorney Karen Unger requested more time to prepare her defense for Christian J. Whitaker, 28, who previously pleaded not guilty to felony charges of second-degree rape, first-degree voyeurism and a misdemeanor of disclosing intimate images.

Barnhart agreed on July 10 to strike the trial set to begin on Sept. 14 and move the four-day trial to begin on Nov. 2.

In March, Barnhart dismissed Unger’s motion to dismiss charges against Whitaker.

According to the probable cause statement from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, a woman reportedly in a relationship with Whitaker, who was a Sequim police officer at the time, told a deputy last July that she was drugged and sexually assaulted at Whitaker’s residence in unincorporated Clallam County on July 1, 2024.

Whitaker was booked and released from the Clallam County Jail last September and pleaded not guilty.

Whitaker worked for the Sequim Police Department from June 16, 2022 until he resigned on Aug. 27, 2025. He was put on administrative leave in July 2024 and his police power revoked.

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office led the investigation to avoid conflict of interest in Clallam County. Chris Ashcraft, special deputy prosecuting attorney from Jefferson County, has been assigned to the case.

Trial set for table theft

A two-day trial has been set in a case involving a table that was taken from a Sequim storefront window.

Kristin Estelle Harlan, 70, of Port Townsend pleaded not guilty to a felony charge of second-degree theft on July 22 in Clallam County Superior Court. She was arrested on July 17 and released on July 20 after her first court appearance.

Harlan allegedly stole a 19th-century Oriental table valued at $2,000 on July 15 from the Sequim Habitat Boutique, 154 W. Washington St. She faces up to five years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine.

Harlan was identified from surveillance video footage and by community members online after Habitat staff posted online, according to Sequim Police Officer Abraham Blaylock.

The trial was set to begin on Oct. 5. A status hearing will be held at 9 a.m. Sept. 11.