SUV crash trial: Problems with audio evidence resolved

The Alaska Courthouse in Cordova. (July 7, 2020) Photo by Zachary Snowdon Smith/The Cordova Times

After five months, issues with audio evidence critical to the case of a Cordova man accused of manslaughter have been resolved. A possible resolution of the case is under discussion, attorneys said at a Tuesday, July 7 pre-trial conference.

Jesse James Jones, 51, of Cordova, was charged with manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, driving under the influence, and misconduct involving weapons in the fourth degree following an Oct. 8 SUV rollover into Eyak Lake. Jones’s passenger, Andrey Plisko, died following the accident.

At a Jan. 28 pre-trial conference, attorney Moshe Zorea, representing Jones, said that Cordova Police Department video recordings that were provided to the defense lacked working audio. However, July 7, Zorea said that state attorney Glenn Shidner had sent him a zip drive containing copies of the videos including working audio.

Now that issues with the evidence have been cleared up, Zorea and Shidner are in the process of attempting to resolve the case. The case was continued until Aug. 25, by which point it should be known whether the case will go to trial, Zorea said.

“Between now and then, we should be able to know whether we’re going to be having to have the trial in October, or whether it will resolve the matter without a trial,” Zorea said.

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