It could be March Madness in Island County Superior Court because of an unusual number of felony trials scheduled.
Four defendants were confirmed for trial in March, with one starting this week. Trials in the Coupeville courtrooms are open to the public to observe in person. Two judges, Carolyn Cliff and Christon Skinner, preside over felony trials in Island County.
Jeffrey W. Tungate, a 62-year-old Arlington resident, pleaded not guilty to felony violation of a court order, a domestic violence crime. If convicted of the charge, he could face five years in prison under the standard sentencing range; his extensive criminal history increases the maximum sentence.
Tungate is accused of calling a Camano Island woman who had a no-contact order against him in 2022, court documents state.
On March 18, Oak Harbor resident Michael D. Nelson, 44, is scheduled to be on trial on charges of residential burglary, assault in the fourth degree and malicious mischief in the third degree. The counts were charged as domestic violence crimes.
Nelson is accused of entering his ex-girlfriend’s apartment without permission, breaking the door frame and assaulting the woman in January 2025, according to court documents.
On March 25, 28-year-old Aston D. Samms, a member of the Navy, is scheduled to go on trial for rape in the second degree and rape in the third degree.
Samms is accused of raping a woman in her Oak Harbor apartment in 2022, according to court documents.
Also on March 25, Justin M. Anderson, a 22-year-old Clinton man, is scheduled to go on trial on a charge of rape of a child in the third degree. He is accused of raping a 14-year-old child in 2023, according to court documents.
April might also be a busy month for the court. On April 1, a high profile case from 2022 may finally go to trial.
North Whidbey resident Tyler Dinsmoor is facing a charge for the alleged commission of a hate crime.
Dinsmoor allegedly told a neighbor that “it used to be legal to kill gay people,” according to a police report. Law enforcement officers from seven agencies, including two federal agencies, took part in arresting Dinsmoor on a $1 million warrant. Officers were concerned about the potential for violence because of the nature of Dinsmoor’s online comments, which included violent vitriol aimed at the LGBTQ community and ominous posts about the gay pride parade, according to court documents.
Dinsmoor’s attorney, however, argued in court that Dinsmoor was being prosecuted for political reasons.
