LAKEPORT ? Morgan Matthew Jack, 33, pleaded not guilty to the murder of Paul Joseph Womachka in a Friday court appearance before Lake County Superior Court Judge Richard Martin. A preliminary hearing was set for April 8.
Jack”s defense attorney Stephen Carter told the judge after conferring in open court with Jack ? who was sitting among other inmates ? that Jack would waive his right to have the preliminary hearing within 10 days of entering a plea.
“The reason he (Jack) entered a not guilty plea is that he is contesting the charges and asserting his rights to have a prelim and a jury trial. It”s standard to enter a not guilty plea at the beginning of a case,” Carter said.
“The Roberts trial is ongoing, and I want to have ample time to prepare for Mr. Jack”s prelim,” Carter said. Carter is the defense attorney in an ongoing murder trial that he said may or may not be over by the April 8. If not, Carter said he would request that the preliminary hearing date be reset.
Appearing in court for prosecutor Rich Hinchcliff, deputy district attorney Gary Luck told the court that Hinchcliff estimated that the preliminary hearing would take two to three days.
Jack faces one felony murder count with three special allegations. One special allegation is that Jack used a knife in Womachka”s murder.
The other two special allegations are that Jack served two prior prison terms for felony convictions. One conviction was for drug possession, the other was for passing an illegal check or checks.
Jack was arrested for a parole violation at Konocti Vista Casino the night Womachka”s body was found inside his submerged Hey Taxi in the adjoining marina, according to a September 2007 LCSD statement. A condition of Jack”s parole was that he not be under the influence of alcohol.
The murder complaint was filed with the court on Feb. 7, according to a Lake County Superior Court clerk. Court records show that Jack has a total of 13 court cases in Lake County, including felony assault charges, drug charges, traffic violations and an attempted escape from custody, among other charges.
Jack is held at the Lake County Jail on a $530,000 bond, according to his booking detail sheet found at www.lakesheriff.com.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com
