Prosecutors Rethink Case Of Arrasmith Accomplice Charges Could Still Be Filed Against Man With Key Testimony

Prosecutors are reevaluating the possibility of charges against the man whose testimony helped convict so-called vigilante killer Kenneth Arrasmith of the 1995 slayings of Ron and Luella Bingham.

As part of an agreement, accessory charges were dismissed Wednesday against Kyle Richardson in the Bingham murders, but officials have not ended their review of his case.

“We want to take another look and just evaluate the case to see if accessory is the right charge,” Deputy Prosecutor Greg Kalbfleisch said.

Then the prosecutor’s office will decide whether another charge should be filed against Richardson, he said.

Arrasmith was convicted 14 months ago of two counts of murder for shooting the Clarkston, Wash., couple he claimed had sexually abused his daughter and police would do nothing about it.

Richardson originally was charged with conspiracy to commit murder, which carries a possible maximum penalty of death. But the conspiracy charge was amended to accessory, a felony that carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

The conspiracy charge came after 2nd District Judge Ida Rudolph Leggett rejected Richardson’s original plea bargain. Following his arrest, Richardson pleaded guilty to being an accessory as part of a deal to secure his testimony at Arrasmith’s trial.

The agreement called for Nez Perce County Prosecutor Denise L. Rosen to recommend Richardson spend 180 days at the North Idaho Correctional Institution in Cottonwood with the possibility of probation afterward.

Although Rosen has said the state could meet the elements in the conspiracy charge, she acknowledged there were concerns the case could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Many of the alleged events happened in Clarkston, outside of the Idaho court’s jurisdiction, she said.