McCauley offered plea bargain in hit-skip case

Published 1:46 pm Wednesday, March 19, 2014

James Edward McCauley, 60, of Sequim, has been offered a plea bargain in his case of second-degree assault with a deadly weapon and hit-and-run resulting in injury, according to court records.

Deputy prosecutor John Troberg offered McCauley a sentence of nine months in jail instead of the maximum possible 24 months, plus fines, court costs and restitution to be determined.

The maximum penalty on the assault charge is 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine plus restitution and assessments. The maximum penalty for hit-and-run is the same.

Meanwhile, Pat McCauley, James McCauley’s wife, had her arraignment rescheduled to Friday, Nov. 6, after she told Judge George Wood she had not received a summons and first read of her case in the newspaper.

She had been scheduled for arraignment Oct. 29. She was charged Oct. 23 with one count of making false or misleading statements to a public servant, a gross misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail or a $5,000 fine or both.

According to court records, James McCauley allegedly intentionally struck a pedestrian crossing a Port Angeles street Oct. 18, then drove away.

Mrs. McCauley allegedly told an investigating police officer that the pedestrian, Sierra Swarm, had jumped onto the car’s hood. Swarm was treated and released from Olympic Medical Center.

Both McCauleys are represented by attorney John Hayden. Judges Ken Williams and Brooke Taylor have recused themselves from Mrs. McCauley’s case.