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

Man accused in Cheney pot shop kidnapping gives television homicide confession

From staff reports

A man accused of kidnapping a Cheney marijuana store employee on lunch break last week gave a jailhouse confession to KHQ on Monday.

Donovan Culps described how he shot Cameron Smith three or four times after Smith declined to sell him pot products because he didn’t have identification.

The Spokesman-Review

He told KHQ he was “having a bad day” and that Smith “got the ugly side of it” on the afternoon of Sunday, Sept. 10.

The shooting set off a regional manhunt for Culps, who said he dumped Smith’s body and then abandoned the car in an empty lot near Airway Heights before heading back home to the Yakima area.

Culps said during a taped interview that he didn’t approach Smith that day with the intention of killing him.

Instead he wanted to fight him.

The two exchanged words and Culps fired on Smith “because he was disrespecting me.”

Culps is jailed on accusations of kidnapping and robbery. He has not been charged for killing Smith.

Culps’ niece, 18-year-old Violetta Culps, remains at large. Another woman with Culps that day, 18-year-old Alisha Jackson, has been arrested for not reporting the crime.