A candidate for Island County Sheriff stood in front of a courtroom filled with people accused of committing crimes, and this time he was one of them.

Jay Wallace, a former Island County Sheriff’s deputy, pleaded not guilty to a single, gross misdemeanor count of false swearing. The 64-year-old Greenbank resident is accused of providing false information on a police report.

Wallace appeared in Island County Superior Court Monday afternoon amid a room packed with people accused of committing more serious crimes, from arson to burglary. A sex offender was sentenced minutes before Wallace stood before Judge Alan Hancock.

Wallace appeared with his attorney, Christon Skinner of Oak Harbor.

Assistant Attorney General Scott Marlow traveled all the way to the law and justice center in Coupeville for the brief arraignment.

While gross misdemeanor charges usually are handled in District Court, Marlow filed the information charging Wallace in Superior Court for convenience sake. He can get help from the Island County Prosecutor’s support staff since the office is just up the stairs from the courtrooms.

Wallace’s next court appearance is on Nov. 27.

After the hearing, Marlow said he expects the case to go to trial.

“I think it will,” he said. “I have to assume so.”

Wallace had no comment, but has maintained his innocence in the past. He is running to replace Island County Sheriff Mike Hawley and accused Hawley of skewing facts against him for political reasons.

Wallace originally filed as a Republican candidate, but later switched to become the sole Democrat candidate for sheriff after the Republicans rejected him during the convention.

The Island County Democrats, however, did not endorse Wallace either.

Wallace is accused of lying in his official report on a Feb. 7 Freeland incident in which 26-year-old Matthew Friar allegedly held a 25-year-old woman captive and assaulted her. The woman called 911 twice, but Wallace never made contact with her.

Sheriff Hawley fired Wallace in April for allegedly shirking his duty and providing false information in his report.