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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Man pleads guilty to attempted rape

Thomas Clouse Staff writer

A Spokane man is facing almost 10 years in prison after he pleaded guilty Thursday to breaking into a Shadle Park home and attempting to rape a 15-year-old girl at knifepoint. The girl, who is the daughter of a police officer, thwarted the attack with a knife of her own.

Richard Allen Turner, 21, pleaded guilty to first-degree burglary with sexual motivation, first-degree robbery and second-degree attempted rape in connection with the break-in that occurred on April 15.

According to court records, the girl was baby-sitting her cousin at a home in the Shadle Park neighborhood when she fell asleep on the living room floor.

She told investigators that she woke up about 2 a.m. to find a knife-wielding man crouching beside while exposing himself.

Turner, who apparently didn’t know the victim, requested several sexual acts he wanted to perform on her, according to the report.

The girl “pulled a knife out of her pocket and held Turner at bay, telling him to leave,” the report states. The girl’s younger cousin awoke, “at which point Turner ran from the residence.”

The teen immediately called 911 and patrol officers arrived. Major crimes Detectives Mark Burbridge and Tim Madsen then took over the investigation.

Department spokeswoman Officer Jennifer DeRuwe said investigations of officers’ family members are handled on a case-by-case basis, but the department had no reason in this case to ask for another agency to investigate the crime.

There is no indication that the girl’s father was in any way involved in the investigation.

“It’s a crime that occurred in the city. As a general rule, we are not going to farm out cases,” she said. “If it was an employee or an officer-involved incident, that would be different.”

After the incident, the homeowner told investigators that a VCR had been stolen along with an iPod. She also told investigators that prior to the burglary, she had cleaned several decorative wine bottles that usually sit on top of her refrigerator.

A couple of days after the break-in, the homeowner found one of those bottles on the floor under a bed.

Forensic specialist Deb Rowles processed the bottle on April 20 and found fingerprints that were matched to Richard Allen Turner, who lived a few blocks away at 5714 N. Ash St.

Burbridge and Madsen videotaped an interview with Turner, who admitted stealing a VCR/DVD player and at least one iPod from the home while carrying the knife “for protection,” and to making the sexual comments to the girl, court reports state.

Detective Lonnie Tofsrud executed a search warrant on Turner’s home and located an iPod Nano in a clear plastic covering in the drawer where Turner told the detectives he had placed it.

Turner, who has no previous felony convictions, did not speak Thursday other than to plead guilty to all three charges.

Spokane County Deputy Prosecutor Mark Cipolla recommended a sentence of nine years and nine months.

Superior Court Judge Ellen Kalama Clark set Turner’s sentencing for 8:30 a.m. Sept. 6.