Thomas Clouse

A federal judge today said the upcoming criminal trial against Karl F. Thompson Jr. will remain in Yakima, but he will make arrangements for a video feed to a courtroom in Spokane so members of Otto Zehm's family can attend.

A federal judge will hold another hearing this morning after attorneys objected to moving the upcoming criminal trial of Spokane police Officer Karl F. Thompson Jr. to Yakima. U.S. District Judge Fred Van Sickle said he would hold a 10 a.m. video conference after Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Durkin and an attorney representing the family of the victim raised concerns both about logistics and the family’s ability to attend a trial some 200 miles away.

A federal prosecutor has asked a judge to reconsider his Tuesday decision to move the upcoming criminal trial of Spokane Police Officer Karl F. Thompson Jr. to Yakima. But defense attorneys support the move.

A Spokane police detective has filed a formal complaint asking the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office to investigate allegations that Chief Anne Kirkpatrick and city attorneys have engaged in felony witness tampering. Detective Jay Mehring filed the complaint with the sheriff’s office Sunday, alleging that the city refused to renew a contract with the department’s longtime psychologist after she gave an opinion favorable to Mehring as part of his $3.5 million civil suit against the city. That suit alleges he was wrongfully terminated in 2007 amid reports that he threatened to harm his wife.

A federal judge Tuesday moved the upcoming criminal trial of Spokane police Officer Karl F. Thompson Jr. to Yakima after defense attorneys raised concerns that local media coverage of Thompson’s fatal confrontation with Otto Zehm could bias a Spokane jury. U.S. District Court Judge Fred Van Sickle also ruled to exclude Spokane County residents from the jury pool. Potential jurors will be selected from a portion of Adams County and all of Franklin, Walla Walla, Yakima, Kittitas, Benton and Klickitat counties.

A Spokane Police detective has filed a formal complaint asking the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office to investigate allegations that Chief Anne Kirkpatrick and city attorneys have engaged in felony witness tampering.

While attorneys got few final answers Thursday, they outlined the parameters that will determine the legal battleground for the Spokane police officer charged in the fatal confrontation with Otto Zehm. The attorney defending Spokane police Officer Karl F. Thompson Jr. acknowledged that federal prosecutors have a “slew of evidence” purportedly showing that his client used improper levels of force against Zehm.

Spokane County Sheriff's Deputy Brett J. Peterson pleaded guilty today to three counts of lying to the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development in order to obtain a discounted mortgage for a house on West College Avenue.

The attorney defending Spokane Police Officer Karl F. Thompson Jr. said federal prosecutors have a “slew of evidence” against his client intending to show that he used deadly force on Otto Zehm during the confrontation in 2006 from which Zehm later died.

The case against former Spokane police Detective Jeff Harvey has essentially been dropped after a jury deadlocked Wednesday on an obstruction charge and the prosecutor said he won’t pursue a second trial. Verdicts require unanimous decisions and the jury split 5-to-1 in favor of acquittal. Deputy Spokane County Prosecutor Brian O’Brien said the case is over.

With the excessive force trial of a Spokane police officer less than a month away, the identity of a second officer under active federal investigation in connection with the fatal confrontation with Otto Zehm has been confirmed. Senior Spokane police Officer Sandra McIntyre already has testified before a federal grand jury that indicted fellow officer Karl F. Thompson Jr. She now faces a potential obstruction of justice charge based on her testimony, according to her attorney and others familiar with the ongoing probe.

With the excessive force trial of a Spokane Police officer less than a month away, the identity of a second officer under active federal investigation in connection with the fatal confrontation with Otto Zehm has been confirmed.

Criminal charges against former Spokane Police detective Jeff Harvey have essentially been dropped after a jury deadlocked 5-1 on an obstruction charge and the prosecutor said he won't pursue a second trial.

Former Spokane police detective Jeff Harvey testified in his own defense Tuesday that a state wildlife officer lied to justify a charge of obstruction, possibly to help the arresting officer’s friend secure more hunting access. “I asked him, ‘Why are you putting so much credibility in a third-party complaint?’ ” Harvey said of his first contact with wildlife officer Dave Spurbeck, who was investigating a report of shots being fired after hunting hours. “That’s when he really got animated. He calls me a liar. He said, ‘We’ll get to the bottom of this.’ ”

The obstruction of justice trial began Monday against embattled former Spokane police detective Jeff Harvey. Harvey was fired this year after being charged with a gross misdemeanor following a confrontation with a state Department of Fish and Wildlife police officer who responded on Jan. 22 to a report of boys shooting after hunting hours on private land north of Spokane. Harvey, who was off-duty at the time, is accused of hindering the investigation, which involved his sons.

A federal judge refused Friday to allow Hells Angels sergeant-at-arms Ricky W. Jenks out of jail so he can help with his girlfriend’s pregnancy. U.S. District Court Judge Justin Quackenbush chastised Jenks during the hearing, saying Jenks hadn’t earned much consideration from him.

The attorney representing Spokane police Officer Karl F. Thompson Jr. filed a motion Thursday asking a federal judge to move the upcoming trial because of “intense” media coverage and because it has become a political issue in the city mayoral race. Carl Oreskovich acknowledged in his filing that the deadline for such motions passed on July 21. He wrote that he had been withholding his request for change of venue to see if attorneys had difficulty finding a jury to hear evidence about Thompson’s fatal confrontation with Otto Zehm.

The attorney representing Spokane Police Officer Karl F. Thompson Jr. filed a motion today asking a federal judge to move the upcoming Oct. 11 trial because of “intense” media coverage and because it has become a political issue in the upcoming mayoral election.

A young mother sobbed and promised the family of the man she stabbed to death during a chaotic confrontation two years ago that she would take it all back if she could. Instead, a judge sentenced her Tuesday to nearly 15 years in prison. Maggie M. Tyler, 28, stood before Superior Court Judge Kathleen O’Connor and read a letter she had prepared for her sentencing after a jury convicted her in April of second-degree murder in connection with the July 6, 2009, slaying of Vitaly Shevchuk in Spokane. Tyler argued at her trial that she simply was defending herself, but jurors rejected it.