Informer Accused Of Destroying Signs Elton Arrested; Warrant Claims He Failed To Show Up In Court
An FBI informer who posed as a newspaper reporter was arrested Tuesday at the Spokane County Courthouse on a charge of destroying campaign signs.
David H. Elton III was booked into jail on a bench warrant after he was spotted in a private office area of the county commissioners, authorities said.
The warrant alleges Elton failed to show up in court to face a charge of destroying signs last fall, jail records showed.
Elton, 30, who listed his address as 12717 E. 31st, was released on a $280 bond after spending six hours in jail.
He is accused of destroying the signs at about the same time he was working as an FBI informer, posing as a reporter for The Valley Herald.
Prosecutors assigned to the destruction of political signs case weren’t available Tuesday to provide further details.
The 30-year-old self-described political consultant went to the commissioners’ office Tuesday morning and asked for a copy of Tuesday’s edition of The Spokesman-Review.
Staff members in the commissioners’ office said Elton wanted to see a news story about his work as an FBI informer in a fizzled sting operation involving a large Gypsy family.
“Our staff felt uncomfortable with him here,” County Commissioner Steve Hasson said after Elton’s arrest.
Hasson said Elton later was spotted during the noon hour, “rummaging around” in an area of private offices used by the commissioners.
Elton was warned previously not to walk into the area without being invited, Hasson said.
The three commissioners were in a closed meeting when a secretary spotted Elton and told him to leave.
Even though Elton left, Hasson said he called sheriff’s Deputy David Reagan, who’s assigned to courthouse security.
Reagan checked Elton’s name in a crime computer and saw there was a bench warrant for his arrest.
As the deputy was talking with Hasson and the commissioners’ staff, they spotted Elton walking on the sidewalk outside the courthouse.
Reagan and two other deputies approached Elton and arrested him on the warrant.
After a series of incidents in the courthouse, Hasson wrote Elton a letter on Oct. 26, warning him to “stop sowing the seeds for future discord.”
The criminal charge against Elton apparently is related to an Oct. 29 incident where he allegedly was spotted destroying or defacing signs promoting city-county consolidation.
About that time, Elton also dashed into a downtown meeting of pro-consolidation supporters and used a disposable camera to take their pictures before abruptly leaving.
During interviews in October through December, Elton wore a hidden FBI recorder and conducted interviews with Gypsy leader Jimmy Marks, who was under investigation for allegedly intimidating witnesses in a civil lawsuit.
, DataTimes