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

Woman, 70, allegedly assaulted, held captive

A 31-year-old Loon Lake man is behind bars accused of assaulting with a machete a 70-year-old woman and holding her against her will after she refused to give him prescription pills.

Kurtis R. Kenney faces potential charges of assault with a deadly weapon, unlawful detention and possession of a controlled substance in connection with the alleged attack on the woman, whom he called his grandmother.

When authorities came to the assistance of the woman at Washington Trust Bank in Deer Park she was bruised and in fear for her life, according to court documents. The woman, who is being treated at Providence Holy Family Hospital in Spokane, told authorities Kenney came to her house Sept. 3 and demanded money and the keys to her car.

When she refused, he began to hit her, she said. Eventually, Kenney struck her with the blunt end of a machete, damaged her home with an ax and held her captive at her home, she told police. A Stevens County sheriff’s deputy reported seeing bruises on the woman’s face and arms, and her left eye was swollen shut.

Kenney called the woman his grandmother, but the woman said she had met him when he dug her car out of the snow some years ago. He stayed with her off and on at her home in Loon Lake after that, she said.

Kenney was arrested at the bank in possession of multiple pill bottles, according to court documents. They held oxycodone with the labels rubbed off. The woman also said Kenney vomited on her for several days and only fed her once or twice during the five days she claimed she was held against her will.

After five days of alleged abuse, the woman told police she was able to trick Kenney into taking her to the bank. While he waited in the car, she told a teller to call 911, according to court documents.

Kenney initially refused to speak with investigators about the bruising, but at the Stevens County Jail he allegedly admitted to the assault but said he would “fight” the detention charge, according to court documents. Kenney said the woman begged him to stay.

The woman told police she feared for her life if Kenney were released. He threatened her life while she was being held against her will, according to court documents.

Kenney appeared before a district judge Tuesday. The felony charges were filed Thursday with Stevens County Superior Court. Kenney was convicted of drug possession in Spokane County in July 2008 and sentenced to five days in jail and a year’s probation, according to court records.