Rape trial for ex-Pasco police officer delayed three weeks

The rape trial for a former Pasco police officer has been postponed to July 6 because of the late addition of a defense expert.

Richard J. Aguirre’s trial had been scheduled to start June 15 in Franklin County Superior Court.

But on Tuesday, Deputy Prosecutor Frank Jenny told the court he needs time to prepare for this DNA witness.

That includes meeting with his own DNA expert, a scientist at the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab, to discuss the report and interviewing the defense witness, Jenny said.

Aguirre, 52, is charged with third-degree rape and fourth-degree assault.

An adult woman reported in late 2014 that she had been sexually assaulted by Aguirre while he was off duty.

Aguirre was placed on leave during the investigation, then resigned from the Pasco Police Department in April 2015.

He also faces a Nov. 28 trial in Spokane County for the 1986 beating and strangulation death of a prostitute. That case went cold for 29 years, then was revived after Aguirre’s DNA was entered into a national database and came back allegedly linking him to a condom found not far from the body of Ruby J. Doss.

This story was originally published June 14, 2016 at 5:32 PM with the headline "Rape trial for ex-Pasco police officer delayed three weeks."