Week’s musical treats
Thursday Mostly cloudy with showers likely B12
Arlo Guthrie, mandolins, fiddles and more A6
PENINSULA DAILY NEWS Port Angeles-Sequim-West End
75 cents
April 12, 2012
Not-guilty plea in upped murder charge BY ROB OLLIKAINEN PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
PORT ANGELES — An intercepted jailhouse letter has led to an increased charge of first-degree murder for Kevin A. Bradfield, a Port Angeles man accused of strangling 27-year-old Jennifer Pimentel to death last October. Bradfield, 22, pleaded not guilty to the new charge in a four-minute hearing in Clallam County Superior Court on Wednesday after it was filed by Clallam County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Ann Lundwall.
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The letter “indicated that Bradfield had planned to murder Pimentel to prevent her from accusing Bradfield of rape,” according to an amended certification of probable cause filed in court records. Bradfield previously was charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of the developmentally disabled woman. In February, a corrections sergeant in the Clallam County jail discovered the letter from Bradfield to a Michelle Bradfield in Oregon. “The contents of the letter indi-
cate the murder was pre-meditated by Bradfield,” Port Angeles Police Detective Kevin Spencer wrote in his report. Defense attorney Loren Oakley said Bradfield’s May 21 trial likely will need to be rescheduled because of the new charge.
Trial date Superior Court Judge George L. Wood signed an order determining probable cause for the new charge and set a May 4 status hearing to discuss the trial date. Bradfield’s trial already had
been pushed back from December to March to May to allow time for DNA testing. “Mr. Bradfield obviously has a right to be tried and get to trial,” Wood said. “I know this makes the stakes much higher with the filing of the charge, but I don’t want to press his right to be tried and ignore that.” The judge instructed Oakley to speak with Bradfield to “make a decision whether or not you want to continue [the trial] based upon the new charge.” TURN
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Kevin Bradfield
BRADFIELD/A4 Accused strangler
Port: Tear down PenPly in a year
RAIN OF BLOSSOMS
The most recent tenant, Peninsula Plywood LLC, closed in November after staying open for 20 months. PenPly left unpaid more than $2.4 million to the port, city of Port Angeles and state Department of Labor and Industries. The port filed suit the first week of April BY ARWYN RICE in Clallam County Superior Court against PENINSULA DAILY NEWS PenPly for more than $1.6 million in PORT ANGELES — Demolition of the mill buildings on Marine Drive, which unpaid rental payments, equipment rental most recently housed Peninsula Plywood, fees and funds owed under a log transport licensing agreement. is expected to begin in about one year. “This is our highest priority,” Jeff Robb, Met with two banks port executive director, said Wednesday. The buildings, constructed in the 1940s, The port has met with two banks have exceeded their useful lives and should involved in the liquidation of PenPly propcome down as soon as possible, Robb said erty, and an equipment auction is expected in a report to port commissioners Monday. to be complete by August, Robb said. According to the port’s work plan, the Deconstruction of the 19-acre site is not permitting and planning process should in the port’s 2012 budget. take about a year, after which the port can Funding for the project is expected to be begin to tear down the buildings. addressed in the 2013 budget. As long as the permitting process runs The port’s Port Central Waterfront Massmoothly, the port should be ready to rede- ter Plan suggests the redevelopment of the velop the site in 2014, Robb said. site in support of “marine trades.” The site has direct access to marine Marine trades is just about anything terminals 1 and 3, and property could be that is dependent on having access to the better utilized in ways other than as the waterfront, Robb said. mill it has been for the past 70 years, according to the work plan. TURN TO PENPLY/A4
2014 target date for redoing site
KEITH THORPE/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
Six-year-old Dominic Braghetta expresses delight as his aunt, Rachel Braghetta of Port Angeles, shakes the branches of a cherry tree, creating a rain of loose blossoms on the youngster last week in downtown Port Angeles. The pair were exploring the downtown area together on a sunny spring day. For a five-day AccuWeather forecast, see Page B12.
KEITH THORPE/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
A loader moves logs from a debarking machine last week at Peninsula Plywood’s mill in Port Angeles. The logs were being cleaned for export.
Lawmakers pass budget in double OT BY RACHEL LA CORTE THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
OLYMPIA — The state Legislature adjourned a double-overtime session Wednesday after finalizing a budget deal that had lawmakers working throughout the night and into the morning. The legislative session ended shortly after the Senate passed a budget measure on a 44-2 biparti-
san vote and sent the bill to the governor for her signature. The House earlier passed the negotiated agreement on a 64-34 vote. “The supplemental budget passed preserves critical programs, including education, and sets our state on a more sustainable path,” Gov. Chris Gregoire said in a statement after lawmakers concluded the session.
“Reaching this point wasn’t now around $31 billion. Lawmakers also passed seveasy.” The supplemental budgets are eral bills overnight before taking for the fiscal cycle that ends June up the budget. The flurry of activity was the 30, 2013. result of months of negotiations on closing a roughly half-billionOperating budget dollar shortfall for the two-year Washington had already cut budget cycle that ends in 2013. $10.5 billion from its budget over Sen. Ed Murray, Senate Demothe past three years, according to crats’ lead budget writer, lauded Gregoire. Its operating budget is the fact that lawmakers didn’t 14706106
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make cuts to K-12 or higher education, as they have in past budgets. “That’s key,” he said. Sen. Joe Zarelli, Senate Republicans’ lead on budget issues, said that ultimately, the budget was “accomplished in a bipartisan way, sometimes tugging and pulling, but nonetheless in a bipartisan way.” TURN
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BUDGET/A4
INSIDE TODAY’S PENINSULA DAILY NEWS 96th year, 89th issue — 2 sections, 20 pages
BUSINESS B4 B7 CLASSIFIED B6 COMICS COMMENTARY/LETTERS A7 B6 DEAR ABBY B12 MOVIES A3 NATION/WORLD A2 PENINSULA POLL B8 PUZZLES/GAMES
SPORTS 3RDAGE WEATHER
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