An expert witness in the trial of John Paul Beckmeyer is examining two weapons seized by police following the fatal shooting that left a 24-year-old Nordland man dead after an argument at a barbecue on Marrowstone Island in August.

Beckmeyer has been in custody since his arrest Aug. 26. He has been charged with first-degree murder, and at a court hearing Friday in Jefferson County Superior Court, Beckmeyer’s trial date was again pushed back after Superior Court Judge Keith C. Harper canceled all jury trials that were scheduled to start before April 1.

Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Christopher Ashcraft told Harper that the defense’s examination of the weapons recovered at the scene of the shooting was ongoing.

Ashcraft added the prosecutor’s office was also awaiting direction from the court due to the cancelation of trials, which were ordered by Harper on Jan. 22 following the continued health threats caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’ll keep running on this hamster wheel that we’re on now,” Ashcraft said.

Richard Davies, Beckmeyer’s attorney, again called for Beckmeyer to be released prior to his trial.

Beckmeyer has been in custody since he was charged in late August, Davies said, and wants his day in court as soon as possible. 

“He hasn’t waived speedy trial; he isn’t interested in waiving speedy trial,” Davies said.

Beckmeyer is being held in Jefferson County Jail on $200,000 bail.

“That is a number he can’t make,” Davies said, and asked bail to be reduced to $50,000.

Davies again stressed that Beckmeyer did not have a criminal history. And though prosecutors have pointed to a case in Coos Bay, Oregon, where Beckmeyer had once faced an assault charge, Davies noted that the allegation never resulted in a conviction and authorities in Coos Bay eventually abandoned the charge.

Davies added that Beckmeyer has a “significant medical condition” that has made it difficult for him to await trial in jail. 

He has had to be furnished with a walker and wheelchair, Davies said, but  Beckmeyer would be better able to attend to his medical needs, and assist with his upcoming defense, if he were released.

Davies also acknowledged the seriousness of the charges against his client.

Beckmeyer, 59, was arrested for first-degree murder after he allegedly shot and killed James McDonald, 24, after an argument at a barbecue spun out of control. 

Beckmeyer allegedly struck his girlfriend in the face while people at the gathering were waiting to eat, and an argument ensued between Beckmeyer and McDonald and another woman who admonished Beckmeyer for hitting a woman.

Beckmeyer retreated to the fifth-wheel trailer nearby where he was living and threatened to get a .45 caliber pistol. McDonald, meanwhile, walked to a house on the Nordland property and came back a few minutes later holding a double-barrel shotgun. 

Authorities claimed Beckmeyer then started shooting out an open bedroom window from inside the trailer with a Ruger .22-caliber pistol, hitting McDonald twice in the chest.

Beckmeyer’s girlfriend, however, has told police the shotgun was pointed at Beckmeyer before he fired at McDonald.

Both the Ruger pistol and the shotgun, a JC Higgins double-barreled shotgun, were ordered released to the defense’s forensic expert Dec. 30.

Davies said the defense will mount a case of “righteous self-defense” considering the sequence of events.

“It’s a very serious matter,” Davies said. “It’s something that Mr. Beckmeyer fully intends on being present for and contesting.”

In response, Ashcraft recalled the debate over bail had been heard five or six times already in court.

He again pointed to the Coos Bay case, recalling that Beckmeyer had moved from the area and had failed to appear to address the assault charge.

A conviction on the Jefferson County murder charge, Ashcraft added, could result in 20 years in prison for Beckmeyer.

“We don’t think he’s going to appear; we think the bail should remain the same,” Ashcraft said.

Harper said Beckmeyer had a history of traveling all over the country, and noted that probable cause had been established for the charges he was facing. 

“He’s a high risk to not show up,” the judge said.

Harper also said he didn’t like having to push back the trial for public safety precautions due to COVID-19.

“Unfortunately, that’s the situation that we’re in,” Harper said.

The judge declined to reduce bail, and dates for Beckmeyer’s future court appearances were set back.

Harper set trial to begin Monday, April 5.