Guilty pleas end HIV exposure case

A former Coeur d’Alene man charged with exposing two women to the HIV virus has agreed to plead guilty on both felony counts, Kootenai County Prosecutor Bill Douglas said Monday.

Mark Arnold Crawford’s criminal trial was set to begin today, but Douglas said a plea agreement was reached Friday during a pretrial conference.

Douglas said his office is recommending a prison sentence, but the amount of jail time has “yet to be worked out.”

A plea change hearing and sentencing have not been scheduled.

Crawford, 37, initially was charged and pleaded guilty to a single count of “known transfer of a body fluid containing HIV.”

He was scheduled to be sentenced in September 2005 when prosecutors learned of another potential victim.

The sentencing hearing was vacated and a new case filed, charging Crawford with two counts.

Each charge carries a maximum five-year sentence.

Douglas said neither woman has contracted HIV as a result of having sex with Crawford.

– Taryn Brodwater

Humane Society shop damaged

A Coeur d’Alene thrift store is looking for donations of women’s clothing after burst pipes caused damage that destroyed much of the store’s inventory and flooded the shop with 2 inches of water.

Employees arrived at the Humane Society Thrift Shop on Monday to find that part of the ceiling had collapsed, apparently because pipes in the ceiling froze and burst, manager Tom Anthony said.

Income from the thrift store provides about a third of the roughly $525,000 annual budget for the Humane Society’s no-kill animal shelter, said Debbie Jeffrey, a board member and treasurer for the nonprofit group.

The shop likely will be closed until the end of the week.

It likely will reopen next week, operating out of the back part of the building, which wasn’t damaged in the flooding.

Jeffrey said the front part of the store likely won’t reopen for several weeks. The thrift shop, 916 N. Third, is insured. For information, call (208) 667-5373.

– Taryn Brodwater

BOISE

Abuse–murder bill advances

A Senate committee voted unanimously Monday to send HB 533, which allows the death penalty for murder linked with sex abuse, to the full Senate for amending.

Members of the Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee support the bill, sponsored by Hayden Lake Republican Rep. Jim Clark, but want it to include an emergency clause that would make it effective as soon as it is signed by the governor rather than on July 1.

July 1 is when most laws passed during the 2006 session take effect.

“If I have somebody who commits an offense the minute after the governor signs this, I’d rather have it effective than say, ‘Well, you get a free shot at it until July 1,’ ” said Senate Majority Leader and committee member Bart Davis, R-Idaho Falls.

– Meghann M. Cuniff