PORT ANGELES — The lawyer for a Port Angeles man arrested after a bulldozer rampage said she may ask for a change of venue for his trial, alleging pretrial publicity has tainted the potential jury pool.
Port Angeles attorney Karen Unger is representing Barry A. Swegle, 51, who is in the Clallam County jail on one count of first-degree assault with a deadly weapon, four counts of first-degree burglary with a deadly weapon and four counts of malicious mischief.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Bail has been set at $1 million.
Authorities said Swegle, who allegedly had a property line dispute with a neighbor, used a logging bulldozer to smash four homes in the Gales Addition area in addition to destroying a pickup truck by running over it and knocking down a power line, cutting power to thousands of Clallam County Public Utility District customers for hours.
“I see venue issues,” Unger said Friday during a county Superior Court hearing on the case.
“We might be making a change-of-venue motion, given the nature of publicity.
“It would be irresponsible not to raise the issue given the notoriety of the case, particularly here in town.”
The 10 minutes of property carnage around noon May 10 became front page news around the world.
ABC-TV’s “20/20” newsmagazine will feature the incident in a segment on “extreme examples of neighborhood disputes” later this summer, producer Harry Phillips said Friday.
Judge George L. Wood set a hearing for 9 a.m. Aug. 1 to hear pretrial motions from Unger and county Deputy Prosecuting Attorney John Troberg, and to hear arguments on a possible change of venue.
A trial date has been set for Aug. 12.
“I am sure that Mr. Swegle intends to go to trial,” Unger said.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5060, or at paul.gottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
