Two prominent cases continued

DAVENPORT—Trial dates in two prominent Lincoln County Superior Court criminal cases were continued at readiness hearings Tuesday, Oct. 17.

Both the cases of 42-year-old Jonathan Ray Stocker of Sprague and 29-year-old Jordan Russell Mills-Jay of Spokane won’t go to trial on the original dates.

Stocker, who is charged with five counts of first-degree possession of depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct and one count of second-degree possession of depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, has a new trial date of Wednesday, Dec. 20.

The case may be moved to a federal court, however, public defender Dave Hearrean said Tuesday.

“We haven’t heard back on that yet,” Hearrean said.

Stocker waived his right to a speedy trial and remained in Lincoln County Jail at press time.

He was originally arrested by the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office Sept. 1 after deputies found a laptop containing “at least” hundreds of images and videos crudely depicting minors at Stocker’s Old Sprague Highway Road residence, according to police records.

Stocker has been an active Level 1 registered sex offender since Aug. 2015 for a possession of child pornography conviction, according to records.

Mills-Jay, who is facing alternative charges of second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter regarding the death of a 5-month-old boy in a Euclid Road home in June, was originally set to face trial Nov. 8.

Both parties agreed to continue the trial to Jan. 17, which presiding judge Gary Libey of Whitman County agreed to.

“Number one, this is a complicated matter,” prosecuting attorney Adam Walser said. “Number two, we’re still awaiting autopsy reports from the medical examiner’s office.”

Mills-Jay was arrested and booked June 26, five days after the baby died at a Spokane Hospital.

He is accused of dropping the baby from 12-18 inches off the ground in frustration when the baby wouldn’t feed late at night, records allege.

Mills-Jay posted a reduced bond from Lincoln County Jail in August and has been living with his sister in Spokane while awaiting trial.