Jurors in a King County District Court case involving a King County Sheriff’s Office deputy facing a misdemeanor assault charge have announced a verdict of not guilty.
King County prosecutors alleged in charging documents that 45-year-old Matthew Wayne Good, a King County Sheriff’s Office deputy and SeaTac police officer, assaulted a suspect in March 2023 who was seat-belted and handcuffed inside a patrol vehicle. Prosecutors alleged Good punched the suspect six to eight times in the chest after the suspect, David Teson, kicked him multiple times.
According to Casey McNerthney, director of communications for the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Good was placed on administrative leave.
Good’s jury trial lasted 10 days, with pretrial motions and proceedings beginning on June 6, and opening statements starting on June 13 at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent.
Seattle attorney Nicholas David Gross of Frey Buck represented Good in trial proceedings. Attorney Daniel Benjamin Merrick represented the State of Washington. Judge Rhonda L. Laumann presided over the trial.
Jurors listened to witness testimonies and arguments from lawyers for six days, including from law enforcement members both serving as prosecutorial witnesses and defense witnesses, and from David Teson, whom prosecutors alleged Good struck several times in the patrol vehicle.
The court held closing arguments for both the state and defense on June 21, with jurors retiring to deliberate after listening to closing statements. Approximately two hours later, jurors in the case reached a verdict, announcing they found Good not guilty of a misdemeanor count of assault in the fourth degree.
According to special questions provided to the jurors, the finding of not guilty was based upon a determination that the defendant’s use-of-force served as self-defense or in defense of others.
Teson, who was charged in March of 2023 with assault in the third degree for assaulting a law enforcement officer, accepted a plea deal in December of 2023, pleading guilty to a reduced misdemeanor charge of assault in the fourth degree.
