Teen To Be Tried As Juvenile

A 17-year-old Colville boy accused of stabbing a Colville High School classmate on Jan. 26 will be tried as a juvenile.

Stevens County Prosecutor Jerry Wetle agreed Monday not to prosecute Brandon Nielsen as an adult. Nielsen pleaded innocent in juvenile court, and Judge Larry Kristianson scheduled a trial for April 3.

If convicted of second-degree assault as charged, Nielsen faces a maximum of 6 1/2 months in detention as a juvenile, compared with a maximum in adult court of nine months to a year and nine months.

Wetle said the year-and-nine-month maximum in adult court would be possible only if a court found the small pocketknife Nielsen allegedly used was a deadly weapon.

He said the blade was about 2 inches long, and a knife is not automatically a deadly weapon under state law unless it has at least a 3-inch blade.

Nielsen is accused of stabbing 17-year-old Zane G. Vos, a Colville High sophomore, in the chest during a scuffle that broke out when Nielsen bumped Vos with a door at the school entrance. Vos’ injury was superficial.