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

Convicted murderer, rapist Joseph Singleton back in jail

Joseph E. Singleton, 50, was sentenced to 180 days in jail for probation violations on Feb. 21, 2014. (Nina Culver)
Convicted murderer and rapist Joseph E. Singleton was sent back to jail for 180 days Friday for violating the terms of his probation. Spokane County Deputy Prosecutor Kelly Fitzgerald said Singleton failed to maintain contact with the Department of Corrections as required, failed to provide a requested urine sample and failed to notify DOC of a change of address. Singleton, 50, was convicted of murder in Alabama in the 1980s and in 2000 was found guilty of first-degree rape, first-degree kidnapping and third-degree assault in Spokane. His victim was a 22-year-old developmentally disabled woman police said Singleton had stalked for weeks. Since his release from prison, Singleton has been back in court numerous times. In 2011 he was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison for harassment, in 2012 he was sentenced to 22 days in jail for failure to register as a sex offender and escape from community custody and in 2013 he was sentenced to five months in jail for domestic violence riot. In court Friday, Singleton asked Spokane County Superior Court Judge Sam Cozza for less jail time than his attorney agreed to in a deal with prosecutors. “I’m asking for mercy from the court, that I can get less,” he said. Cozza imposed the 180 days agreed to by prosecutors. “If you make your good time, you’ll do less,” he told Singleton. Singleton shook his head as he walked out of court, his chains and shackles jangling. “Man, that’s too much time,” he said. As part of the agreement, prosecutors also agreed to dismiss a charge of unlawful imprisonment filed against Singleton because the witness, Singleton’s girlfriend, was uncooperative. Court documents say that charge stems from when Singleton reportedly refused to let his girlfriend out of the car during a police chase in December. His criminal history in Spokane also includes convictions for residential burglary and third-degree assault in 1998.