Spokane County’s homicides in 2014
Jan. 4
Arnold Allen Lomasson, 48, was shot in his apartment at 2228 N. Astor St.
Suspect: Brandon M. Mellon is in the Spokane County Jail on a first-degree murder charge. Mellon and Lomasson were in the same apartment. Witnesses said Mellon was acting erratically and walked into Lomasson’s bedroom and shot him in the back of the head while Lomasson was playing video games. Mellon fled to the Tri-Cities, where authorities arrested him after he accidentally shot himself in the leg. His trial is set for May.
Jan. 5
Harry “Ed” Giesbrecht, 53, was shot in his apartment at 204 E. D St. in Deer Park.
Suspects: Anthony J. Tudor is jailed on a charge of first-degree murder. Richard Klepacki is free on $75,000 bond and is charged with first-degree murder. A witness in the apartment with Giesbrecht said someone pounded on the door and Giesbrecht was shot without warning when he opened it. Trial is scheduled to begin in June.
Feb. 28
David M. Whitman, 30, was abducted, beaten and shot at 1523 W. Knox Ave. His burned body was found near Tum Tum in Stevens County on March 7, 2014. His girlfriend also was abducted but was released.
Suspects: Police arrested Benito Baldovinos-Mendoza, Domingo Valdovinos Navarro, Teresa Geile, Christine Morlan, Dillon Casteel, Jenny Rogers and Joseph Gillespie. They allegedly suspected Whitman of stealing money and drugs from them. Geile, Morlan and Rogers are scheduled for trial in May on charges of first-degree kidnapping. Gillespie pleaded guilty to a charge of first-degree assault last year. He has not been sentenced. Baldovinos-Mendoza, Valdovinos Navarro, Casteel and Gillespie are facing federal charges of murder, conspiracy to distribute drugs and possession of drugs with intent to deliver. Their trial is scheduled for July.
April 25
Latanya Clara Chapin, 41, was found dead in the trunk of a car at 600 S. Richard Allen Court. She was likely stabbed and beaten to death at her home off Argonne Road in Spokane Valley at the end of February.
Suspects: Juan E. Sifuentez was sentenced to life without parole after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit first-degree robbery, conspiracy to commit first-degree kidnapping, first-degree murder and first-degree robbery. He was the boyfriend of Chapin’s daughter, Rachael Colby. Colby is in the Spokane County Jail facing a charge of second-degree murder in the death of her mother. A judge has ordered a mental evaluation of Colby.
April 29
Tracy Fergerstrom, 46, was stabbed to death at 2512 N. Standard St.
Suspect: Police suspected her boyfriend, Jeremy Arnold, in her killing. Arnold returned to the scene while police and reporters were still there and crashed through a barricade in his truck. He was shot and killed by police after he got out of his truck with a gun in his hand; the Spokane County prosecutor later declared the shooting justified. The incident was captured by a television news camera.
June 7
Sean K. Oie, 49, was stabbed inside the Spokane Transit Authority Plaza at 701 W. Riverside Ave.
Suspect: Donald T. Phillips pleaded guilty to first-degree murder 17 days after his arrest and was sentenced to more than 28 years in prison. Phillips and Oie had an argument several blocks away and Phillips followed Oie into the STA Plaza. The stabbing was recorded by a surveillance camera. Phillips was taken into custody later that day in Peaceful Valley.
July 8
Sheena Henderson, 30, was shot while she worked in Deaconess Hospital at 810 W. Fifth Ave.
Suspect: Witnesses said her husband, Christopher P. Henderson, shot her before killing himself. Christopher Henderson had been evaluated as a suicide risk the day before the incident.
Aug. 10
Richard Amodio, 32, was shot in the parking lot of the Howard Johnson Inn at 3003 N. Division St.
Suspects: Police have issued a nationwide arrest warrant for Enrique Pena, 23. Witnesses said Amodio and another man went to the parking lot to steal 5 pounds of marijuana from a drug dealer. The dealer, who police believe is Pena, fired several shots at Amodio and his companion.
Oct. 2
Richard Wesley Whipple, 66, was found stabbed to death in his apartment at 1600 W. Pacific Ave.
Suspect: Chrystal Huff, 40, is in the Spokane County Jail facing a charge of second-degree murder. Whipple may have died on Sept. 25, when Huff was seen entering his apartment. Her trial is scheduled to begin in May.
Oct. 22
Joshua B. Lee, 31, was hit by a car on U.S. Highway 2 north of Nevada Street.
Suspect: Orlan W. Knuth is in the Spokane County Jail on a charge of vehicular homicide. Police say the two had been out drinking the night before and got in an argument. Lee was walking home when he was allegedly hit by Knuth. A trial is scheduled for April.
Oct. 29
Edward Weed, 46, was found strangled to death in his home at 5418 N. Ash St. a week after another man said he last saw Weed alive.
Suspect: Michael E. Harmon is jailed on charges of burglary and first-degree murder. Harmon allegedly admitted fighting with Weed on Oct. 29 and said he left Weed on the couch. He told police that he returned to Weed’s home several days later and found Weed dead in the same position. A trial is scheduled in May.
Nov. 1
Brothers Arturo Gallegos and Juan Gallegos-Rodriguez were shot at their apartment at 11910 E. Broadway Ave. in Spokane Valley.
Suspect: Their nephew, Christopher B. Ramirez, is in the Spokane County Jail facing charges of second-degree assault and unlawful possession of a firearm in addition to two counts of first-degree murder. Witnesses said Ramirez had previously threatened the brothers. A judge has ordered that Ramirez have a mental evaluation.
Nov. 7
Zachary D. Lamb, 26, was shot in the street in the 1000 block of South Elm Street.
Suspect: Police have not identified any suspects. His fiancée, who was with him, told police that the couple had been followed home by someone in a dark-colored SUV with a roof rack that extended over the windshield. The man, who was described as having a gruff voice, reportedly called Lamb several expletives and the N-word.