PORT ANGELES — A Port Angeles man who is accused of assaulting a Clallam County sheriff’s deputy after the man was awakened in his car Feb. 3 will go to trial Monday.
Matthew K. McDaniel, 27, is charged with third-degree assault of a law enforcement officer for allegedly shoving Deputy Mark Millet shortly before midnight at Railroad Bridge Park, which closes at dusk.
A certified welder, McDaniel recently had lost his job and had been living out of his vehicle.
Deputies alleged that McDaniel shoved and shouted obscenities at Millet before the confrontation ended with Millet using his stun gun on McDaniel.
Clallam County Superior Court Judge S. Brooke Taylor on Friday granted defense attorney Loren Oakley’s request to question jurors about their exposure to media coverage about the case.
Clallam County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney John Troberg did not object.
Most of the coverage centered on the Clallam County jail releasing McDaniel by mistake shortly after he was arrested.
McDaniel turned himself in once he found out about the error. He remained in the jail Saturday on $10,000 bond.
“We will be bringing in a jury first thing Monday morning, and away we go,” Taylor said.
McDaniel, who has maintained his innocence, repeatedly has asked to be released from jail on his own recognizance.
He wrote a letter to Troberg alleging that Millet lied about the events surrounding his arrest. He asked Troberg to drop the charge.
McDaniel stated in the letter, which appeared in his court file Wednesday, that he is an “innocent man” with no criminal record who is trying to enlist in the military.
McDaniel said he has a permit for the loaded .40-caliber pistol that was found inside his vehicle.
Assault in the third degree is a class C felony.
