In brief: Spokane County sheriff’s deputy investigated for insurance fraud

Deputy Jeremy Jeske has been placed on paid administrative leave while he is investigated for insurance fraud in Washington and Idaho, Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich said.

Jeske was placed on paid leave two weeks ago. Knezovich said an insurance investigator recently filed a report with the Washington attorney general’s office recommending that a charge of insurance fraud be filed against Jeske in regard to an insurance claim Jeske filed on his personal trailer. An internal Sheriff’s Office investigation will start this week.

Jeske has been with the Sheriff’s Office for 15 years and is the regional training coordinator.

Nina Culver

Cami Bradley to give free concert Thursday

Spokane singer-songwriter Cami Bradley will perform a free concert on Thursday at Riverfront Park as part of the Hoopfest 25th anniversary celebration.

Bradley, who recently released an album, was a finalist on the TV show “America’s Got Talent” last fall, placing sixth overall.

The concert will begin at 7 p.m. Local bands the Marshall McLean Band and Cathedral Pearls will open for Bradley.

Staff reports

Confession will be usable in murder trial

Prosecutors will be able to use the confession of homicide suspect Gary L. Stoddard in his trial that started this week.

Stoddard admitted killing Heather Cassel, 20, shortly after he was arrested in 2013. He was taken to an interview room in the Public Safety Building, where he was read his rights. He confessed after he acknowledged his rights.

Earlier this month, Spokane County Superior Court Judge Tari Eitzen wrote that his confession was “spontaneous” and that Stoddard “knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily waived his rights before making the statements.” On the night of the shooting, Cassel had quarreled with Jonathan J.L. Ritchey, the father of her child who is also Stoddard’s nephew. Police were called to the College Terrace Apartments at 4150 W. Fort George Wright Drive on March 11, 2013, after neighbors reported they heard a woman screaming and gunshots. Police believe that Stoddard, 46, was chasing Cassel, shooting her first in her lower back and then in the face at close range.

Ritchey, 24, was sentenced to 12 months in jail in March after he pleaded guilty to first-degree rendering criminal assistance for his role in the crime. He was released after being given credit for time served.

Nina Culver