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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Sirens & Gavels

No jail time for man who injured daughter making marijuana extract

Jacob Sayman sits in court with his attorney during his guilty plea on Jan. 21. He pleaded guilty to charges stemming from an explosion caused by distilling marijuana in his car. (Rachel Alexander)
Jacob Sayman sits in court with his attorney during his guilty plea on Jan. 21. He pleaded guilty to charges stemming from an explosion caused by distilling marijuana in his car. (Rachel Alexander)

A Spokane man will serve no time in jail after pleading guilty to manufacturing marijuana extract in his car, causing an explosion that injured his three-year-old daughter.

Jacob W. Sayman, 28, pleaded guilty Wednesday morning to attempted second-degree assault and manufacturing a controlled substance in relation to the Aug. 4, 2013 blast that occurred while he was driving in the Garland District. Both charges are felonies.

Judge Gregory Sypolt sentenced Sayman to a year of community custody and found him to have a chemical dependency. Sayman will be required to continue mental health treatment, take a parenting class and pay about $4,800 in restitution and court costs.

He was eligible for a reduced sentence because he is a first-time offender with no prior felonies. As part of the plea agreement prosecutors agreed to drop a third-degree child assault charge.

"I don't think he intentionally assaulted his child. I think it was sheer stupidity that brought him to his actions," said Kari Reardon, Sayman's attorney.

Sayman was also ordered to have no contact with his daughter outside from weekly four-hour supervised visits provided for in his existing parenting agreement. The girl's mother said in court that her daughter has recovered physically from the explosion but "mentally, no, it's never very far from her mind."

Before he was sentenced, Sayman apologized to those he had hurt.

"I'm extremely sorry to my daughter most of all for causing her any pain," he said.

 



Rachel Alexander
Rachel Alexander came to the Spokesman-Review in 2014 after working for the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin. She covers social services, health and science for the City Desk and writes a monthly data-focused column, Know Spokane.

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