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

Sirens & Gavels

Crime Stoppers sought tips on jail inmate

Crime Stoppers offered a reward this week for information on a suspect who's already in jail on a U.S. Marshal's hold.

 Douglas Ray Mobley, 30, (left) is to be sentenced May 26 for extorting now former sheriff's Deputy Velven York, who worked at the Spokane County Jail.

A jury convicted Stephanie A. Strong of second-degree extortion last November. She's serving 55 months in prison. 

York alerted authorities to the extortion attempt last June after he was contacted by a caller threatening to disclose his improper off-duty contacts with Strong, a former inmate.

Police believe that caller was Mobley, who was dating Strong.

Sheriff’s policy prohibits employees from contacting criminal suspects when off duty. York had been giving Strong rides from a drug treatment program to a halfway house where she was living and meeting her while she was a jail inmate.

York (right) resigned from the sheriff's office in July, Sgt. Dave Reagan said today.

Strong and Mobley were arrested after they retrieved $5,000 York left for them in an undercover sting at Dick's Hamburgers.

Strong was under supervision for a federal mail theft and fraud conviction from 2007. Mobley was on federal probation for a gun conviction. He's in jail on a federal hold for that case, so prosecutors requested a bench warrant be issued to ensure his appearance at sentencing.

Crime Stoppers issued the reward offer Tuesday but rescinded it today. Still, it gave me a good opportunity to check up on the case.

Past coverage:

June 30: Convicts deny extortion plot against jailer



Public safety news from the Inland Northwest and beyond.