Second teen arrested in killing of 88-year-old

The father of one of the teens implicated in last week’s beating death of a decorated World War II veteran thanked God for his son’s peaceful capture, saying the family had met with Spokane police and prayed for his safety.

“I hope they find out what really happened,” said Steven Kinard, whose 16-year-old son Kenan Adams-Kinard was found by police hiding in a friend’s basement in the 500 block of West Montgomery Avenue early Monday and taken into custody.

“Kenan’s a good kid,” the father added, calling Belton’s death a “tragedy.”

The younger Kinard and Demetruis Glenn, also 16, are accused of killing 88-year-old Delbert Belton in a Wednesday robbery outside the Eagles Lodge in north Spokane. Belton, who police say fought back against his attackers, was pronounced dead at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center.

Prosecutors have indicated they’ll seek to charge the teenagers as adults on first-degree murder and first-degree robbery charges. Both are being held in lieu of $2 million bond.

Glenn, who turned himself in last week, appeared Monday in Spokane County District Court, where he listened calmly as Judge Richard Leland read the charges and allegations against him. Friends were in the packed courtroom and later tried to talk to Glenn outside before police whisked him to the county’s juvenile jail.

Meanwhile, the fatal assault continues to draw international attention as veterans groups and others express outrage over the brutal attack.

Belton, who survived the Battle of Okinawa and returned to Spokane to work at Kaiser Aluminum, had been waiting for a friend in the parking lot of the Eagles Lodge and planned to spend the evening shooting pool. He instead was found unconscious and bleeding profusely in the front seat of his Ford sedan.

Spokane police Chief Frank Straub confirmed Monday that it appears the attackers had intended to rob Belton but the confrontation escalated.

“I think a robbery just got worse,” Straub said, adding that “these are two young men who just spun out of control.” The attackers took cash and left the mortally wounded victim to die.

The new details emerged Monday as police announced the capture of Adams-Kinard, the final suspect in the case.

Adams-Kinard had eluded police for days.

The teen’s father, Steven Kinard, said he hadn’t talked with his son since Aug. 14, a week before the homicide. Speaking on the front stoop of his family’s home in the East Central neighborhood, Steven Kinard wondered Monday what could be done to avoid the violence.

“It was a rude awakening to me,” Steven Kinard said. “It’s telling me, damn, what could I have done for my son?”

Steven Kinard described the teen as a gifted multi-sport athlete and an improving student. Descriptions of the violence taking place in Belton’s sedan, which left the victim with numerous facial fractures, are out of character, Steven Kinard said.

“Kenan is no violent person at all,” he said.

Steven Kinard said his son was mostly raised by his grandmother and the church, where he plays drums each week.

The elder Kinard and his brother Terrence, Adams-Kinard’s uncle, have had run-ins with the law. Terrence made headlines a few years ago for appealing to a federal judge while awaiting sentencing on drug charges to spend Thanksgiving at his mother’s home. At the time, he had failed to appear for numerous court dates. But both men said it would be unfair to link Adams-Kinard with their past mistakes.

The Kinard family reached out unsuccessfully to Kenan, trying to get him to turn himself in, Terrence Kinard said. Steven Kinard said police came to his house, and he prayed that his son would be taken into custody without harm.

“I just thank God that they brought him back safe,” Steven Kinard said.

Police also arrested three friends of Adams-Kinard suspected of helping him hide from police over the weekend.

Both Glenn and Adams-Kinard had prior arrests and convictions on their records, Straub said. Adams-Kinard was serving six months probation and sentenced to 30 hours of community service stemming from a fourth-degree assault and third-degree robbery conviction in June, according to court records. He was booked into jail shortly after 8:30 a.m. Monday and also will appear in District Court as early as today.

Straub lauded the work of investigators in quickly apprehending the two suspects. But he said preventing these incidents in the future will require collaboration between citizen groups and the police.

“This is not a law enforcement issue, this is a community issue,” he said.