A Skamania County judge has recused himself from former Clark County Superior Court Judge John Wulle’s drunken driving case.
Wulle, 65, was set to appear before Skamania District Court Judge Ron Reynier on Wednesday morning. However, the hearing was canceled because Reynier cited a conflict of interest.
Wulle previously entered a not-guilty plea to the gross misdemeanor in Clark County District Court, before the change of venue.
His defense attorney, Jon McMullen, said Reynier had excused himself before the case was transferred to Skamania, but at the time, the attorneys didn’t have that information.
McMullen doesn’t know what the conflict is with Reynier, but he said the Skamania County court will likely bring in an outside judge to handle Wulle’s case.
A new date in the case has not yet been set.
Wulle was arrested Aug. 28 at a Safeway supermarket in Salmon Creek after allegedly driving while intoxicated to the store and striking two vehicles.
A witness told Clark County sheriff’s deputies that a Toyota Solara tapped the back of her vehicle as she was stopped at a red light. She said the vehicle then pulled into the Safeway parking lot and crashed into a parked vehicle, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in District Court.
The driver of the Toyota, identified by officers as Wulle, allegedly climbed out of his car carrying a bottle of vodka. He walked into the Safeway, leaving his car running and still in gear pushed against the vehicle parked in front of his, the affidavit states.
Breath tests found that Wulle had a blood alcohol level of 0.094 and 0.088 about two hours after the alleged incident, court records said. In Washington, a blood-alcohol content of 0.08 is considered evidence of impaired driving.
Wulle was a Superior Court judge for 12 years and before that served four years as a District Court judge. He was unseated in the 2012 primary election by David Gregerson.
Throughout his career, Wulle received multiple complaints about his conduct. But he was also popular with many law enforcement officials.
