All five people charged in the stabbing of Tomas Hezina in Port Townsend on Oct. 20 have now pled “not guilty.”
Each is charged with assault in the first degree with infliction of great bodily harm, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison and/or a $50,000 fine.
Pleading not guilty in Jefferson County Superior Court on Oct. 28 were James Michael Hansen, Ryan Robert Baker, Ryan Andrew Hausenfluck and Kellee Lucia Farfan. Camron Louis Jevne pled not guilty on Oct. 25.
Hansen is 18 and the other four defendants are 19 years old.
Jefferson County Superior Court Judge Craddock Verser set Baker’s bail at $500,000 and the others at $100,000. None had made bail as of Oct. 31, according to a jail roster provided by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
The five defendants are to be tried as a group beginning Dec. 19. Each has his or her own attorney.
Hezina was beaten, kicked and stabbed in the heart and lungs by several of the defendants just after 3 a.m. Oct. 20, according to the charging papers. The police report said he was cornered after he jumped off a second-floor balcony at the Hancock Street Apartments, 620 Hancock St. The stabbing took place in the courtyard.
According to Police Chief Conner Daily, methamphetamine and a dispute over $20 were the underlying factors in the brutal assault. All five defendants were apprehended in Poulsbo that day, and no other suspects are being sought.
Hezina’s heart had to be restarted twice before he was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center, where he was initially listed in critical condition, police said. On Oct. 29, Hezina was well enough to leave the hospital’s intensive care unit. His was listed in satisfactory condition Nov. 1.
Although the initial confrontation between the victim and some of the assailants took place at a trailer in the Sea Breeze park nearby, none of them had legal permission to live there, note the Sea Breeze managers. The park’s owners and managers have made a concerted effort in the past two years to eliminate the type of tenant problems that had plagued the property in the past. Managers do a criminal background check on every applicant, and prospective renters who have a felony conviction are denied.
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