From the Daily Chronicle (Centralia, Washington), 24 September 1974: Murder Charge Filed. A first degree murder charge was filed against James D. White Monday in connection with the fatal shooting of Gary G. Binfod, 23, of the Littlerock area.
White, who appeared in Superior Court before Judge Frank Baker, will be defended by two court-appointed attorneys, Fred Gentry and Dan Glen. The defendant will be formally arraigned sometime next week. White remained in custody Tuesday in lieu of $15,000 bail.
The murder charge stemmed from a shooting incident Sunday at the Prairie Tavern at the intersection of the Steamboat Island Road and the Shelton Highway.
An investigation by Detective Dick Nelson, Thurston Count Sheriff's Department, indicated several altercations had occurred over a period of about an hour prior to the shooting.
The suspect, White, alleges he had been threatened with a handgun placed at his head in one of the arguments which led to the fatal incident.
Sheriff's Deputies said the victim was shot at nearly point-blank range in the chest at 12:18 a.m. Sunday and he was pronounced dead at St. Peter Hospital, Olympia, at 2 a.m. as a result of his wound.
A post-mortem examination Monday at the hospital by Drs. Richard Price and Raul DeLeon revealed the victim's pulmonary artery had been severed by the blast from a .308 Mossberg rifle.
The murder weapon was the property of Robert Baker, 28, Olympia, a companion of White, 28, of Tacoma, deputies said.
Binford's body was taken to the Mills and Mills Funeral Chapel, Olympia, where funeral arrangements are pending.
Binford is survived by his widow and a year-old son.
Find A Grave memorial #37337838.