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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

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Huckleberries: Why disparity in DUI sentencing?

Robyn Nance and Derek Deis (pictured) are co-hosts of KXLY’s “Good Morning Northwest,” along with Mark Peterson. (KXLY courtesy photo)
Robyn Nance and Derek Deis (pictured) are co-hosts of KXLY’s “Good Morning Northwest,” along with Mark Peterson. (KXLY courtesy photo)

You can’t blame KXLY’s Robyn Nance for wondering about the sentencing in two similar DUI cases. A drunk, speeding at 120 mph, kills 16-year-old Bailey Roach and severely injures his friend Taigen Balbi in Spokane County – and gets the maximum sentence, about 10 ½ years. Another drunk, driving the wrong way on Highway 95, kills Spokesman-Review contractor Michael Baroni, 33, and his two young daughters, Madilyn, 8, and Molly, 6, in Kootenai County – and gets a sentence of one to seven years, with only one year fixed. Facebooks Robyn:I get that every case is different and there are intricacies, but, is this an Idaho/WA thing? Is it because of the drivers’ backgrounds? Ethnicities? What? I honestly want to know.” Robyn’s grandfather was killed by a drunken driver. So her questions should carry extra weight/DFO, Huckleberries print. More here.



D.F. Oliveria
D.F. (Dave) Oliveria joined The Spokesman-Review in 1984. He currently is a columnist and compiles the Huckleberries Online blog and writes about North Idaho in his Huckleberries column.

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