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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Palouse Con Artist Suspected Here, Too Police Seek Spokane Victims Of Woman Awaiting Trial

A con artist waiting trial in Whitman County for first-degree theft may have swindled Spokane residents as well, police said.

Pamela Reid, 46, is accused of stealing more than $50,000 from a retired Washington State University professor between 1988 and 1990.

Last fall, Whitman County Judge Wallis Friel got sick on the fifth day of the trial and Reid would not agree to a substitute judge, Prosecutor James Kaufman said. Instead, she challenged some of Friel’s rulings and is waiting for the appellate court’s decision.

Reid remains in the Whitman County Jail with bail set at $50,000. Her new trial date has not been determined.

Police think Reid pushed her con acts on victims in Spokane, as well.

Detective Robert Webb said he’s counting on residents who’ve been taken by Reid’s “woe is me” stories to come forward.

In most cases, Reid convinced her victims she needed money for one reason or another and always promised to pay it back, Webb said. Sometimes she claimed to have a large inheritance on the way, but just needed cash in the meantime.

“I don’t know if Pamela Reid knows how to tell the truth,” Webb said. “I’m sure - positive - she’s left some victims behind here.”

Reid was convicted once for defrauding an elderly woman in Asotin County in 1990, but the case was overturned on a technicality. The victim since has died.

“We’re talking thousands of dollars that she got from that,” Webb said. “She gets these people to feel sorry for her and then she takes their money.”

Later, Reid moved to Spokane’s North Side, and pleaded guilty in 1993 for writing bad checks worth $400. She also was convicted of second-degree theft after using a fake name to open an account at Burgan’s Furniture and charging $3,000 to it.

Reid has used different names while living in Spokane, including Ruth, which is her middle name. She’s also signed rental contracts using the name Ruth Sutherland. Other aliases are Pamela Lambert and Pamela Reece, Webb said.

“She’s convincing … it probably wouldn’t be hard to sympathize with her,” he said. “She puts on quite a show.”

Residents who may have been victimized by Reid are asked to call Webb at 625-4241 or Crime Check at 456-2233.