SEATTLE — A state appeals court has ordered a new hearing to evaluate a man’s claims that he was wrongly convicted in the shooting of a Washington state trooper who later became a sheriff.
Martin Jones is serving a 50-year sentence after being convicted of shooting Scott Johnson in 2010 in Long Beach, a tourist town on the Southwest Washington coast. Johnson was elected sheriff after the shooting and served two terms before losing a re-election bid last fall.
Jones’ attorney, Lenell Nussbaum, requested a new trial two years ago, citing new evidence that included a sworn declaration from Peter Boer, a local drug dealer, that on the night of the shooting, his brother Nicholas, a repeat felon, confessed to it and asked him to dispose of gun parts. Several people had also called police to say that a composite sketch of the suspect that aired on television news closely resembled Nick Boer.
The lone witness to the shooting — a tow-truck driver — told police Jones wasn’t the culprit, but Johnson said he was.