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

$1 million bond set for career criminal

Career burglar Christopher J. Cannata was back in court on new charges Thursday for the second time in a week – and police and prosecutors are apparently tired of it.

Spokane County Prosecutor Larry Haskell asked for and was granted a $1 million bond on two cases Thursday, which adds to the $500,000 bond set Wednesday on charges of burglary and vehicle theft.

The $1.5 million total bond is higher than that set for most murder suspects, and would require Cannata to hand over $150,000 to a bail bond company – and collateral for the rest – to be released from jail.

“He is a substantial danger to the community,” Haskell said.

Haskell plans to take the rare step of requesting a hearing to have Cannata held without bond. The hearing could be held as soon as next week.

“It’s a big deal on a non-capital case,” Haskell said after Cannata’s appearance in court. “His history and current activities are precluding us from keeping up.”

Haskell will have to prove with “clear and convincing evidence” that Cannata violated his release conditions from a March arrest by committing new crimes. That’s a much larger legal hurdle than simply proving the probable cause necessary for an arrest, Haskell said.

“I think it’s time to do something different,” he said.

A representative of the police department’s Chronic Offender Unit said Wednesday that Cannata has refused offers of assistance to find a job and take other necessary steps to become a law-abiding member of society.

The new charges Cannata faced in court Thursday are second-degree burglary and second-degree assault. He is accused of hitting a man in the head with a bat on Aug. 17, the same day he is accused of stealing a panel van from U.S. Linen and breaking into Performance Saw on Sullivan Road.

Cannata told police that he believed the man he assaulted had taken some of the tools that Cannata had stolen from the business, according to court documents.

Cannata, who has 31 felony convictions on his record, was arrested in March for the February burglary of Chaps restaurant. He was ordered held on $100,000 bond, which he asked to have reduced, saying he was indigent. He posted that amount, however, the day before his request was denied. The bond in that case has now been raised to $500,000 and is part of the $1.5 million bond Cannata is being held on.