Yates To Plead Not Guilty Suspect Appears In Court; Tucker Wants Higher Bail

Robert Lee Yates Jr. will plead not guilty to eight counts of first-degree premeditated murder and two other felony charges, his attorney said Friday.

Attorney Richard Fasy said Yates will enter the pleas when he is arraigned May 31.

Yates appeared before Superior Court Judge Kathleen O’Connor Friday amid tight security and spoke few words.

The 47-year-old Yates is charged with killing Jennifer A. Joseph, 16; Darla C. Scott, 29; Shawn L. Johnson, 36; Laurel A. Wason, 31; Shawn A. McClenahan, 39; Sunny G. Oster, 41; Linda M. Maybin, 34; and Michelyn J. Derning, 47.

All were women involved in prostitution and drugs at the time of their deaths.

Court documents say the victims were shot to death with a similar handgun and moved by car to where they were dumped.

Most were found with plastic bags over their heads.

Yates also is accused of robbing and trying to kill Christine L. Smith, 32, in August 1998.

According to the sheriff’s affidavit, Smith reported to Spokane police that she was the victim of an assault and robbery.

On Friday, Prosecutor Steve Tucker said he may ask a judge at Yates’ arraignment to set an even higher bond than the current $1.5 million.

Tucker said he doesn’t think Yates could even come close to making the existing bail, but “I’m just being overly cautious.”

After the arraignment, Tucker’s office will have 30 days to request the death penalty for Yates. Tucker said he would probably use most of the 30 days to make a decision.

Fasy wouldn’t talk about specifics of the case.

“We should adjudicate this in Superior Court, not in hallways or press conferences,” Fasy said.

However, Fasy did say the public defender’s office has received very little discovery information from the police and that he may request more in the immediate future.

In Tacoma, Pierce County Prosecutor John Ladenburg said Yates probably will be charged with the murders of Melinda Mercer and Connie LaFontaine Ellis next week.

Tucker pulled back from charging Yates with the 1997 and 1998 deaths of those two Pierce County women, because Yates has the right under the state constitution to be tried in the jurisdiction where the crime was committed.

In court, Yates’ first appearance had the feel of an over-hyped Las Vegas prize fight. By the time the audience and media settled into their seats, it was over. The event lasted less than four minutes.

Yates appeared even more relaxed than his attorneys.

“The hearing itself was so brief, there wasn’t that much to it,” Fasy said. “I don’t think anybody got really excited about that.”

Staff writers Bill Morlin, Jonathan Martin and Mike Roarke contributed to this report.