Tommy Ross Jr. freed by U.S. court
60-year-old American, who served time for killing Victoria woman, is released in Oregon
Tommy Ross Jr. is a free man once more.
The 60-year-old American, who served time in Canada for killing a Victoria woman in 1978, was released from custody in Oregon late Tuesday following a court decision.
He’s believed to be headed to his mother’s home in California.
Ross spent nearly 38 years in prison in Canada for strangling 26-year-old Janice Aili Forbes at her Queens Avenue apartment in Victoria 40 years ago.
He was released on full parole in November 2016 and deported to the U.S., where he was immediately arrested at the border and returned to Clallam County to face a charge of killing 20-year-old Janet Bowcutt in Port Angeles in 1978 — a few weeks before Forbes was killed in Victoria.
The case, however, took a turn last month when a Clallam County judge dismissed the first-degree murder charge against Ross on the grounds that his right to a speedy trial had been violated.
Ross was briefly released from custody on Oct. 23, while prosecutors applied for an emergency stay of the dismissal.
The prosecutors argued that there was a “debatable issue” about whether Ross’s rights had been violated and maintained that he posed an immediate danger to the community.
The stay was granted pending a review, and Ross was picked up a few hours later in Oregon on his way to California.
He remained in the Clackamas County jail in Oregon until Tuesday, when a court rejected a request by prosecutors to extend the stay and keep Ross in custody until a full appeal of the dismissal can be heard.
Port Angeles lawyer Lane Wolfley, who represents Ross, said his client was released from jail at about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.
“He’s known for probably a couple of months that the case could only result in a dismissal,” Wolfley said.
“So he was relieved he is not facing any more jail time.
“Think about it. Last night was his first night in 40 years that he wasn’t sleeping in a prison.”
Prosecutors, meanwhile, are still pursuing their appeal of the original decision to dismiss the murder charge on speedy-trial grounds.
“While we respect the court, we strongly disagree with the decision,” Clallam County prosecuting attorney Mark Nichols said in a statement last month.
The appeal court is expected to hear arguments in February.
Ross’s lawyer expects to prevail there as well.
“We are in possession of all the points of the law, all of the equitable considerations, and all of the material facts,” Wolfley said.
“So I can say with complete confidence that the judge’s decision will be upheld.”
In his decision to dismiss the murder charges against Ross, Superior Court Judge Brian Paul Coughenour noted that Ross was originally arrested in Los Angeles in 1978 on the Victoria and Port Angeles murder charges.
The judge said the Clallam County prosecutor released Ross from his arrest warrant and agreed to let him return to Canada on the understanding that he would return to the U.S. following his trial.
The prosecutor’s office later learned, however, that Ross would have to serve his Canadian sentence before being turned over to U.S. authorities.
Coughenour ruled that the decision by Clallam County prosecutors to relinquish jurisdiction over Ross nearly 40 years ago led to a violation of his right to a speedy trial.