Spokane7
50°
April 23, 2010 in City
Robber gets life after third strike
Thomas A. Butler’s home-invasion robbery last year didn’t just earn him two bullets to his belly – it earned him a permanent spot in prison.
A Spokane County jury convicted Butler, 26, of six felonies on Wednesday. Under the state’s three strikes law, he faces life in prison without parole because of previous convictions.
Butler forced his way into a home at 4113 E. 16th Ave., on March 20, 2009, where three Eastern Washington University seniors lived. One of the residents shot Butler.
Detectives believe Butler and accused accomplice Derick D. Taylor had an inflated impression of what they might find in the home.
A jury convicted Butler of first-degree kidnapping, first-degree burglary, conspiracy to commit first-degree robbery, first-degree robbery and two counts of first-degree assault. He was acquitted of two counts of first-degree robbery.
Taylor is out of jail on $250,000 bond. His trial is set for June.
Couple acquitted of caging 2 boys 
Scoutster on April 23 at 3:16 p.m.
I was a juror in this trial.
In my opinion, it would erroneous to characterize the occupants of this house as innocent college kids and as victims of some random home invasion by career thugs.
These “Eastern Washington University seniors” were not innocent, just lucky.