Teen cleared of two charges, faces one more

A former South Kitsap High School senior on trial as an adult for two alleged assaults and one alleged harassment was cleared of at least two charges so far, according to Kitsap County Deputy Prosecutor Craig Lindsay.

Lindsay said Evan T. Moran, 17, was acquitted last week of second-degree assault charges stemming from an incident at SKHS last April where the defendant allegedly punched a fellow student.

Lindsay, who is prosecuting Moran on all three charges, said among other possible issues, there was some question whether the broken nose the alleged victim suffered was an old or new fracture.

Moran was also accused of felony harassment after witnesses alleged that shortly after school resumed last September he threatened to kill a fellow student and members of his family.

Before his trial, however, the charges were lowered to third-degree harassment, which is a misdemeanor, and finally dismissed last week.

“There wasn’t necessarily a question of whether the threat was made, but whether the victim felt any fear (because of the threat),” Lindsay said, which is required to prove harassment.

If Moran’s third trial begins today as scheduled, he will face conviction on a fourth-degree assault charge that alleges he punched a Safeway employee in the face while trying to steal three packs of beer last December.

Deputy Prosecutor Warren Sharp said the teen was being tried as an adult for the April incident because the defendant had declined juvenile court deferment and requested a jury trial.

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