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June 30, 2011 in City
Spokane killer dies during prison break
Newland
(Full-size photo)
A Spokane man serving 45 years for the murder of a 19-year-old woman in 2006 was shot and killed Wednesday in what prison officials describe as an escape attempt.
Kevin Wayne Newland, 25, drove a forklift through the doors of an industrial area at Clallam Bay Corrections Center after a corrections officer was taken hostage about 10 a.m. by another inmate armed with a pair of scissors, according to the Washington Department of Corrections.
Newland then drove into the prison’s perimeter fences before he was shot and killed by another corrections officer, officials say.
The officer taken hostage was treated for minor injuries at a hospital.
The rampage appears to have been spearheaded by two men convicted of violent, high-profile crimes – Newland for the strangulation death of Spokane teenager Jamie Lynn Drake, and 25-year-old Dominick S. Maldonado for a shooting spree at the Tacoma Mall in 2005 in which four people were taken hostage and seven people injured. Maldonado is serving a 163-year prison sentence.
Newland’s death occurred on the five-year anniversary of the discovery of Drake’s body in the floorboards of a Stevens County cabin.
DOC spokeswoman Maria Peterson said Newland was working in the prison’s industrial area Wednesday but said details regarding the employment and cell placements of Newland and Maldonado will be released as the investigation continues. She did not know how Maldonado accessed scissors or how Newland was able to get to a forklift.
“We’re still gathering information about the whole incident,” Peterson said.
The prison, which is located on the northern tip of the Olympic Peninsula and houses 858 medium- and maximum-security inmates, was locked down as law enforcement investigated the attempted escape and shooting.
Newland had received seven disciplinary infractions since arriving there in January 2008. His offenses included fighting, indecent exposure, resisting, not following rules and possessing a TV he wasn’t supposed to have, according to the DOC.
Newland was involved in a possible escape attempt at the Spokane County Jail that led to increased security at his trial.
A Spokane County jury in September 2007 convicted Newland of first-degree murder for the June 2006 death of Drake, who was missing for a week as Newland drove her prized silver 1993 Mustang and went on a spending spree with her credit cards.
He was arrested in King County on June 27, 2006. Two days later he led detectives to his mother’s cabin in Stevens County, where he’d wrapped Drake’s body in a blue tarp and stuffed it in a crawl space. Newland had dated Drake’s roommate before he surprised Drake in her apartment and killed her.
Superior Court Judge Sam Cozza, who presided over the trial and sentenced Newland, said in an email that he was surprised by Newland’s death.
Cozza described Drake as a “nice young lady” whose family “suffered greatly over her loss.”
“Most crimes are stupid and senseless,” he said. “This was more stupid and senseless than most.”
Human trafficking suspects released 
ericdx on June 30 at 12:35 a.m.
Wow, way to go Spokesman, recycle the same story from yesterday with a new headline, so that all of the comments are gone. Glad to see that getting new news is important. Of course I guess we should just be happy to get recycled day old stories….
And as I said in the article yesterday, this guy dying is a good case of good riddance to bad garbage. Its a shame his partner in crime was not shot with him.
idahocity on June 30 at 5:32 a.m.
i have seen the spokesman repost the same article sans comments. are they doing this so the comments don’t stay part of the record?
sounds like newland got what he so long deserved.
MrBloggy on June 30 at 7:01 a.m.
They put heavy hitters in Clallam Bay and they know how to deal with escapes. Nothing says you’re in prison like a hot high velocity .223 round smoking down from a guard tower. Curious if he breached the fence(s) before they plugged him.
JayNW on June 30 at 8:48 a.m.
Yesterday the article wasn’t in print, as it was breaking news in the afternoon. Today it is actually printed in the paper and all printed stories are also available online. My understanding is that the same link isn’t necessarily used, therefore yesterdays few comments won’t transfer over.
Its not a big deal people. Seriously I read some comments and think, they are so unhappy in their lives that they will complain about the most ridiculous thing. I actually feel sorry for people like that.
Mr Bloggy- Go to King5 website, they have a bunch of photos. He went through a metal garage type door, a 10+ft chain link fence, and was almost through the outter chain link fence when shot. There is a small area of grass, then extremely thick wooded area. Had he been allowed to get into those woods, there is a very high chance he could have gotten away for a period of time- days, weeks, months, etc.
meghannc on June 30 at 11:19 a.m.
JayNW is right on all counts.
The previous version is available here: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/jun/29/spokane-killer-shot-dead-attempted-prison-escape/