A Hockinson man accused of hiring a former Oregon cellmate to kill his wife in a murder-for-hire plot remains in jail without bail after his arraignment hearing on Wednesday, April 10.
James Rummell is charged with aggravated murder in the first degree-domestic violence and solicitation to commit murder in the first degree with premeditation in the death of his wife, Lindy Rummell, 60. He pleaded not guilty for his charges on April 10 during his arraignment hearing in Clark County Superior Court. He faces a possible trial date slated for May 20. Judge Robert Lewis will oversee the trial. If he is convicted, James Rummell faces life in prison without parole.
During last week’s arraignment, Rummell’s defense attorney, Louis Byrd, requested an omnibus hearing — a pretrial hearing providing an opportunity for plea negotiations, which was scheduled for 10 a.m., Thursday, April 18.
Byrd requested Rummell’s bail be set at $500,000, which Lewis denied. Rummell has been in jail since Judge John Fairgrieve first denied him bail on April 1. Rummell would only need to post 10 percent, $50,000 to reach bail.
Judge Lewis requested Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Christopher Glinski to read the state’s position regarding no bail.
“The state’s objecting to any modification of the bail, your honor. We ask the court to maintain the no-bail hold that was set by Judge Fairgrieve just last Monday … The defendant here is charged with aggravated murder and solicitation to first degree murder,” Glinski said in the April 10 arraignment hearing. “The allegations here are he and his wife, Lindy Rummell, were having financial problems …”
According to court documents, Rummell is suspected of hiring his former prison cellmate, Darrell Riley, to kill Lindy Rummell for $35,000 and a motorcycle, according to court records.
The documents also state that Rummell told another friend he was fighting with his wife and that she had a $100,000 life insurance policy.
The Eugene Police Department in Oregon arrested Riley. He has been identified as the primary suspect in the case, according to court documents, and awaits extradition to Clark County from jail in Oregon.
In previous reporting by The Reflector, Clark County Sheriff’s Office detectives first arrested Rummell due to probable cause for providing false statements to a public servant based on inconsistencies with his first statements the night of the murder, March 23, according to court documents. Following further investigation, CCSO arrested Rummell on suspicion of accomplice to murder first degree — domestic violence and accomplice to burglary first degree, according to court documents.
