Man found guilty in drug-related killing

A Spokane man involved in the execution-style slaying of a drug dealer whose decomposed body was discovered in southern Spokane County in 2006 was found guilty Tuesday of first-degree felony murder and first-degree kidnapping.

A Spokane County Superior Court jury took only three hours to deliberate in the trial of Robert Alan Brown before delivering its verdict before Superior Court Judge Sam Cozza.

Brown, 43, was charged in connection with the 2005 murder of 25-year-old Sebastian Esquibel, whose body was found beneath a slash pile by two people cutting firewood on a farm Jan. 16, 2006. Esquibel was found with a set of jumper cables tied around his ankles.

Others linked to the murder include Theodore M. Kosewicz and Carlton James Hritsco, two alleged methamphetamine dealers. In January, another Spokane County jury found Kosewicz, 39, guilty of aggravated first-degree murder and kidnapping for his role in the killing. Hritsco, 27, will plead guilty to second-degree kidnapping and second-degree assault in exchange for his testimony against Brown, said Spokane County Deputy Prosecutor Eugene Cruz.

Another man, Levoy G. Burnham, is serving a 24-year sentence after pleading guilty to first-degree murder last year.

While Cruz said he was happy with the verdict, Brown’s parents – who were present for the verdict but asked that their names not be used – said police were guilty of a “vendetta” against their son, who had a domestic violence record and had been critical of the Spokane Police Department.

Brown told police he didn’t kill Esquibel, according to the state’s summary of facts.

Informants told police Esquibel was beaten and killed because he stole $800 that was supposed to be used to buy meth. The murder occurred in June 2005.

By the time Esquibel was found, his body was mostly a skeleton. The Spokane County medical examiner found a bullet hole in the back of Esquibel’s skull, and his death was ruled a homicide.

The same month the body was found, Esquibel’s father, Danny Gurule, came to Spokane from Pueblo, Colo., to try to find his son, court documents say.

Gurule told police that Esquibel normally called him once a week, but he’d last heard from him May 23, 2005, when Esquibel called to ask for money and said he was planning to return soon to Colorado.

Esquibel’s estranged wife, Analisa Esquibel, told police that their 2003 marriage broke up over his drug use and that there were people in Spokane who were angry at Esquibel because he had “ripped them off,” court documents say.

Cozza will sentence Brown at 1:30 p.m. Nov. 21.