Third strike defendant could get new trial

Sentencing for a Vancouver man who faces his third “strike” was postponed Thursday so his appeal attorney can seek a new trial.

Dion Ward, 44, was convicted April 14 by a Clark County jury of second-degree assault for threatening his longtime girlfriend with a knife.

He was set Thursday to receive life imprisonment without the possibility of release under Washington’s law for repeat violent offenders. His first two strikes are for second-degree assault with sexual motivation in 1999 and indecent liberties in 2000.

But Clark County Superior Court Judge Barbara Johnson agreed to a request by Ward’s new attorney, John Browne, for a hearing to decide whether the defendant should receive a new trial based on allegations his trial attorney ineffectively represented him.

Browne stressed how high the stakes of the conviction are. “This is one step below a death penalty case,” he said. “It is very serious and needs to be taken seriously accordingly.”

Johnson agreed, saying she would schedule an evidentiary hearing July 1. Sentencing was postponed until the outcome of that hearing.