Assault Charges To Be Dropped Against Woman Who Slapped Teen

Assault charges are being dropped against a woman who slapped a Newport city councilman’s teenage son when the boy used foul language on a downtown street corner.

“This case is going down the toilet and I’m flushing it,” Deputy Pend Oreille County Prosecutor Greg Hicks said. “We are not able to proceed because we are not able to prove the charges at this time.”

Hicks filed a motion Thursday to dismiss the case. He said the victim, 14-year-old Josh Kolthoff, “has decided not to pursue the charge and the state has agreed to respect that request.”

Kolthoff is the son of City Councilman Jim Kolthoff.

Newport-area resident Wanda Wilson, 47, was charged with fourth-degree assault after she slapped Kolthoff on the afternoon of Feb. 10. The incident occurred three days after angry business people demanded the City Council take action against bands of youths they said were harassing customers.

The council subsequently adopted a curfew for children younger than 18 and directed police to beef up downtown patrols.

Wilson said Josh Kolthoff directed a sexually vulgar remark at her, spat in front of her and flicked cigarette ashes at her when she passed him and two of his friends on Main Street. Kolthoff said he was guilty only of using foul language with his friends.

One of Kolthoff’s friends said Wilson deliberately stubbed Kolthoff’s cigarette out on his neck, but Wilson said he was burned accidentally when the cigarette fell into the folds of his hooded sweatshirt. In his initial statement to police, Kolthoff said only that Wilson grabbed his cigarette and “threw it away.”

Wilson’s attorney, Pat Stiley, said the misdemeanor charge should never have been filed.

“I hope they have solved the problem that they had in Newport of youths banding together downtown on street corners and harassing older residents,” he said. “This wasn’t the only example by any means. It was just a particularly outrageous example.”

, DataTimes