October 27, 2008

Paulk extradited to Wasco County in murder case
Details sketchy in case, involving abuse of a corpse charge

By RODGER NICHOLS
of The Chronicle

     James Paulk, Jr. has been extradited from Washington State and transferred to the regional jail in The Dalles to stand trial for murder in Wasco County.
     Paulk was indicted by the Wasco County grand jury in August 2007 for the shooting death of a Portland area man, Christopher Bailey, near Mosier on or between June 28 and June 30 and the abuse of Bailey’s corpse.
     Paulk was served a warrant at the Skamania County jail, where he was serving a sentence for attempted murder and robbery in an unrelated case.
     Little is known about the facts of the case.
     A statement released by the Wasco County District Attorney’s office in August said further details could not be released “to insure the defendant a fair trial and to insure that the presumption of innocence is maintained.”
     District Attorney Eric Nisley said Friday that the defendant had unsuccessfully fought the extradition to Oregon.
     Paulk made his first appearance at the Wasco County Circuit Court Friday, appearing by video from the jail. Judge Paul Crowley asked if Paulk understood the charges and their consequences — potentially life in prison on the murder charge and up to five years on the abuse of a corpse charge, and if his name were spelled correctly on the information sheet outlining the charges. Paulk answered “Yes” to both questions.
     Crowley noted that Paulk was eligible to have a court-appointed lawyer, but that there were none locally available to handle a capital crimes case. He directed staff to bring him a list of Oregon attorneys with that qualification, and set Paulk’s next appearance for Wednesday, Oct. 29 to appoint an attorney from that list.