Two years into his 76-year sentence, this Thurston County man will get a new trial

A Thurston County man who was convicted of 137 charges will get a new trial.

Washington’s appeals court overturned all of the convictions on Tuesday for the 38-year-old man accused of leading an organized crime ring and committing several burglaries throughout the region.

Kenneth A. Linville Jr. was sentenced in 2015 to 76 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of several crimes, including leading organized crime, residential burglary, theft, trafficking stolen property, identity theft and unlawful possession of a firearm.

The state Court of Appeals ruled that Linville will have to stand trial again because his attorney failed to provide him with adequate representation. The court determined that 56 of the charges — including all of the burglary charges — that Linville faced should have had their own trial under state law. But Tacoma-based attorney Derek Smith never made that request, according to the written decision.

Linville is currently being held at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla, but will eventually be transferred back to the Thurston County jail.

Several of Linville’s 10 co-defendants testified against him at trial, fingering him as the ringleader in several burglaries. Co-defendant Ryan Porter told police in 2014 that Linville bragged about committing “hundreds of burglaries,” according to Thurston County Superior Court documents.

Police began investigating Linville in early 2014 following a string of burglaries in Olympia, Tumwater and unincorporated Thurston County. Credit cards belonging to an Olympia burglary victim were used at the Lacey Target by Kelly Olsen, one of Linville’s co-defendants. According to court documents, she told police that she received the credit cards from Linville.

About a month later, officers saw Linville sell seven loose diamonds to a Lacey jewelry store. His then-girlfriend and co-defendant Jessica Hargrave was seen selling items to a Tumwater pawn shop, according to court documents.

When confronted, she admitted to committing several burglaries with Linville, then pawning the jewelry she stole.

The Olympia Police Department arrested Linville in February 2014.

This story was originally published June 28, 2017 at 3:59 PM with the headline "Two years into his 76-year sentence, this Thurston County man will get a new trial."