Bill Morlin

A 34-year-old Spokane man confessed to his third bank robbery after his attorney unsuccessfully attempted to get a charge tossed out. The attorney for John J. Ballou sought dismissal of the federal bank robbery charge because police accidentally erased a bank video tape of the Dec. 1 holdup.

A high school counselor teaching kids about the dangers of drugs also was selling cocaine, he told a federal jury Thursday. "I meant everything I said and did with those kids," fired counselor John S. Drake said of his former job with public schools in Lincoln County.

A suspended Spokane attorney testified Wednesday that cocaine addiction destroyed his marriage and law practice. At one point, he said, he believe he would be killed. "I've lost everything, including my self-respect," Howard Nichols told a jury in U.S. District Court.

1. Susan Smith gets a pat on the back from attorney Judy Clarke Wednesday. Photo by Tim Dominick/Associated Press 2. Susan Smith sits in court Wednesday with attorney Judy Clarke. Photo by Tim Dominick/Associated Press

Spokane drug kingpin James Larsen told a jury Tuesday that he bought vast quantities of cocaine from a high school drug counselor. Larsen and the counselor already have confessed to their roles in a cocaine trafficking network, and are testifying during the trial of two other suspects.

A parade of cocaine dealers who confessed their involvement in Operation Doughboy will testify in the trial of two remaining co-conspirators. Keith S. Young, 47, of Electric City, Wash., and Edelmire "Eddie" Tamiz, 38, of Pasco, are charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine. The pair are the only defendants in the case to not cut plea bargains for lighter sentences.

The biggest crack cocaine supplier ever caught in Spokane was convicted by a federal jury Friday and faces at least 15 years in prison. Darryl E. Jackson, 31, formerly of Compton, Calif., was found guilty of conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine.

Police and federal agents allege the 31-year-old defendant is the biggest supplier of crack cocaine ever caught in Spokane. In a rare move, a federal judge issued an arrest warrant Thursday for a defense witness in a major cocaine trial. U.S. District Court Judge Fred Van Sickle issued the warrant for Brent Nowacki on the fourth day of the trial of Darryl E. Jackson.

A retired Spokane contractor who failed to report more than $1 million in stock profits over five years was convicted Wednesday of filing false income tax returns. Richard E. Peters, 64, faces sentencing May 1 after a background report is prepared for U.S. District Judge Frem Nielsen.

The man police say is the biggest supplier of crack cocaine ever caught in Spokane kept his dope on ice, a federal jury was told Monday. Darryl Jackson, 31, was arrested Oct. 19 by police and federal Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents who found 2 pounds of crack worth $170,000 hidden in a refrigerator. "He kept it hidden in the freezer compartment" Assistant U.S. Attorney Ron Skibbie told the jury in opening statements.

David Helsing spent all of Friday viewing the south side of the U.S. Court House looking for weather damage to concrete window sills. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review

Damages of $15 million are sought in the first three claims filed against the U.S. government over last summer's shooting spree at Fairchild Air Force Base. Other claims are being drafted or considered by some of the 22 people wounded and the survivors of four people killed in the June 20 rampage.

Six Montana men face federal drug indictments as an outgrowth of Spokane's "Operation Doughboy" cocaine investigation. The arrests came about after Clarence "Cip" Paulsen III, a main figure in the Spokane investigation, pleaded guilty in November to federal drug charges. As part of his plea agreement, Paulsen agreed to identify people who had bought cocaine from him, court document say.

Jungblom

Superior Court Judge Robert Whaley has been nominated to the federal court. Photo by Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman-Review

1. Paulsen 2. Larsen

A federal judge, questioning a last-minute legal maneuver by the Justice Department, is dismissing a bail-jumping charge against an accused drug dealer. The ruling Friday by U.S. District Judge Frem Nielsen eliminates, at least for now, the prospect that prosecutors would force defense attorney Mary Schultz to testify against her client, Steven Hell. Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Shogren subpoenaed Schultz, contending he needed her to testify next week whether she told Hell when to be in court for a pre-trial hearing.

A man who took a 13-year-old runaway from Spokane to Mexico faces a federal sex crime charge. Jose Guel-Perez, 29, is accused in a federal complaint of transporting a child interstate for the purpose of engaging in a sex act, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Rice. He was arrested Jan. 12 by U.S. Customs officials and FBI agents after attempting to return to the United States from Mexico.

A man who surrendered after being accidentally released from the Spokane County Jail must remain there until his trial on federal drug charges. Benny Ray Smith, 27, who has been convicted twice of drug offenses, would pose a danger to the community if released from jail, U.S. Magistrate Cynthia Imbrogno ruled Friday.

A Spokane defense attorney must testify as a prosecution witness against her client, a federal judge ruled Thursday. If attorney Mary Schultz refuses to testify, she could be found in contempt of court and sent to jail. "There really isn't a choice for me here," Schultz said after the ruling, stopping just short of saying she won't answer questions if put on the witness stand.

It took a U.S. District Court jury less than an hour Thursday to convict Edward P. Collicott of three federal drug-dealing charges. The conviction means the 50-year-old Spokane man, with nine prior felony convictions, faces the likelihood of a minimum 30 years in prison. Under federal sentencing standards, Collicott's four prior drug convictions put him in line for the mandatory sentence.

A heroin addict whose criminal record spans 24 years faces 30 years in federal prison if convicted of three federal drug charges. Edward P. Collicott, 50, went on trial Tuesday in U.S. District Court, accused of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine.

State liquor investigators are reviewing FBI files to determine whether to sanction 10 Spokane-area bars and lounges identified in a major cocaine case. Operation Doughboy culminated in mid-August with two dozen arrests. Since then, most of the suspects have pleaded guilty and agreed to answer investigators' questions in exchange for lighter prison sentences.

U.S. Bank officials say they're still trying to figure out how $750,000 in check deposits disappeared shortly before Christmas. The checks were picked up at U.S. Bank branches in Lewiston and Colfax and Rosalia, Wash., by a contract courier service, authorities say. But instead of arriving at a processing center in Spokane, the checks "mysteriously disappeared," FBI agents say.