PORT ANGELES — A Port Townsend man has pleaded not guilty to witness tampering, a charge that will trail his pending cases for second-degree murder as well as communicating with a minor for immoral purposes and possessing depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
Aaron C. Fisher, 37, pleaded not guilty on Friday in Clallam County Superior Court. He previously pleaded not guilty to the other charges. He remained in the Clallam County Jail on Friday in lieu of $150,000 bail.
The witness-tampering case would proceed only after resolution of the other matters. Superior Court Judge Brent Basden said no separate trial schedule was needed at this time.
Fisher’s trial for second-degree murder will begin Monday. In a separate hearing, the court addressed proposed jury instructions and stipulations related to evidence and trial procedure.
Fisher is charged in the death of Richard Madeo, 70. Fisher is accused of punching Madeo in the face last May in a gas station parking lot, knocking him unconscious. Madeo died two days later at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
Trial stricken
Meanwhile, a March 9 trial date for Marquise Hagans-Moore of Port Angeles has been stricken and will be rescheduled. Clallam County Superior Court Judge Simon Barnhart set a Feb. 20 hearing to establish a new case schedule.
Hagans-Moore, 28, has pleaded not guilty in the death of Rebecca Rule-Cowles, 51, who was found dead of an apparent gunshot wound on Sept. 28, 2024, in a residence the two shared in Port Angeles.
Prosecuting attorneys estimate the trial will last about two weeks.
New hearing date
In a separate case, Josiah Hill, the former Olympic Medical Center emergency department physician, is scheduled for a hearing on Feb. 20.
Hill was sentenced in June 2024 to 179 days in jail after he pleaded guilty to assaulting six women who were patients at the hospital.
In a Nov. 25 filing, prosecutors allege Hill did not attend and complete a court-ordered fitness-for-duty evaluation for health care professionals that was part of his judgment and sentencing.
The Washington Medical Commission revoked Hill’s medical license last September.
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Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached by email at paula.hunt@peninsuladailynews.com.
