Alleged murderer has trial readiness hearing
By Terry Murry on Wednesday, December 1st, 2021 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
PENDLETON – Jonathan McDonald, 33, of Milton-Freewater is in court this morning for a trial readiness hearing. He is accused of murder and four counts of first-degree robbery stemming from the death of George Martin and a spree of robberies in Milton-Freewater.
“That case is going to take a significant amount of time, not only in the preparation for trial but the trial itself,” Umatilla County District Attorney Dan Primus said. “We’ve actually got it set for the entire month of March.”
The short-staffed DA’s office will not have to handle the case alone. The first chair attorney is Oregon Department of Justice Senior Assistant Attorney General Kurt Miller. Primus said the help from DOJ is essential and his office will gain from watching Miller in action.
“It’s going to be a great opportunity for our office to be able to work alongside Kurt Miller and learn from a very valuable resource,” Primus said.
McDonald’s alleged accomplice, Michael James Metcalfe, entered guilty pleas in June and is currently serving a life sentence with the possibility of parole. He was 20 at the time of the crime spree and will not be eligible to apply for parole until he has served at least 32.5 years on that life sentence.
