Courthouse watch: 8.11.09
A bounty hunter accused of forcing an elderly Spokane man to give a bondsman thousands of dollars was released from jail on his own recognizance today.
Brian D. Steenhard, 38, is charged with first-degree theft and obtaining a signature by duress or deception after a 70-year-old man told police Steenhard and Ryan M. Holmes of Holmes Bails Bonds forced him to withdraw $6,000 to pay a bond debt. Police say the court had already reimbursed Holmes for that bond.
Holmes, who faces additional charges, posted a $20,000 bond last Thursday.
Deputy Prosecutor Patrick Johnson asked for Steenhard's bail to be set at $20,000, but Judge Ellen Kalama Clark ordered Steenhard released, noting that Steenhard had turned himself in.
Read my story on Holmes' arrest here.
Also today, Clark ordered a level 3 sex offender arrested after he was stabbed released on his own recognizance, but only because the guy's in the hospital and can't be in jail.
Read my story here.