SUV crash case may not go to trial

The Alaska Courthouse in Cordova. (Aug. 25, 2020) Photo by Zachary Snowdon Smith/The Cordova Times

The case of a Cordova man accused of manslaughter may be resolved without a trial, his attorney said at a Tuesday, Aug. 25 hearing.

Defendant Jesse James Jones, 51, of Cordova, appeared with his attorney, Moshe Zorea, at a teleconferenced pre-trial hearing. Zorea said that he had been in communication with state attorney Glenn Shidner concerning the possibility of resolving the case without trial. With Shidner’s support, Zorea requested a continuance of the case. Valdez Superior Court Judge Rachel Ahrens granted a continuance to Oct. 13.

“I think, during that time, we should be able to decide whether we’re going to be going to trial in November or whether we’re going to be able to resolve this without a trial,” Zorea said.

Jones was charged with manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, driving under the influence, and misconduct involving weapons in the fourth degree following an Oct. 8, 2019 SUV rollover into Eyak Lake. Jones’s passenger, Andrey Plisko, died following the accident. A trial has been repeatedly delayed due to technical issues with audio evidence and due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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