Convicted sex offender Thomas Herman, now headed to prison for 10 years, said in court Wednesday even he knew it was wrong to watch and possess Internet images of child pornography "when I heard the kids cry." Herman heard the children crying as he watched them being sexually abused in video depictions on his computer while living in the basement of a north Spokane home owned by police Officer David Freitag.
Eight defendants – two with ties to law enforcement – have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Spokane that reviewed evidence in six unrelated child-pornography cases, authorities said Monday. One of the defendants, Kenneth John Freeman, 44, is a fugitive who has been placed on the U.S. Marshals Service "15 Most Wanted" list.
A wealthy North Idaho businessman, already facing income tax evasion charges, now is accused of attempting to hire a hit man to kill a federal judge, a prosecutor and an IRS agent. David Roland Hinkson, called a "hard-core American patriot" by his anti-government supporters, is scheduled to appear today in U.S. District Court in Coeur d'Alene.
Over the past decade, the city of Spokane has paid out $2.5 million to settle a variety of claims against the Police Department. Through its self-insured liability fund, the city has paid settlements in 303 of 724 claims for injuries, property damage and civil rights violations since 1996, according to a claims database obtained from the city by The Spokesman-Review in a public records request. The remaining 421 claims were denied.
Rocky Treppiedi is a vocal supporter of limitations on Washington's public records law. As an assistant city attorney, Treppiedi has worked – often successfully – to prevent the release of public documents.
Rocky Treppiedi, the Brooklyn-born lawyer who has defended the Spokane Police Department since the 1980s, has both detractors and defenders. His allies say he's saved taxpayers millions of dollars with his aggressive defense of claims against police, including a strategy of countersuing citizens who file lawsuits.
A Spokane couple who planned to build a resort on Lake Pend Oreille near Sandpoint have gotten an $18.2 million default judgment against a Seattle-area man who promised to help find financing for the project. Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Alex Verhoogen and his wife, Mary Lee Verhoogen, who jointly operated Swan's Landing LLC, got the judgment this month in Spokane County Superior Court against Robert Stilnovich, who was president of Universal Online Inc.
Three years into a legal fight that forced his ouster from Spokane Raceway Park, Orville L. Moe has filed a countersuit alleging, among other things, that he is the victim of a civil conspiracy. The 70-year-old businessman filed the Superior Court suit last week against 10 named individuals, including court-appointed receiver Barry Davidson, who is a Spokane attorney.
A Spokane County judge will decide next week whether to appoint a special prosecutor to handle misdemeanor animal cruelty charges that the court previously allowed a Liberty Lake woman to file against two sheriff's deputies who killed a runaway calf with repeated Taser shots. District Court Judge Sara Derr heard arguments Friday from attorney Adam Karp, who said it would be an ethical obstacle to give the animal cruelty case to the office of Spokane County Prosecutor Steve Tucker, which previously refused to file charges.
Public corruption charges against Orville Moe, the embattled former operator of Spokane Raceway Park, and Dale R. Perry, the ex-mayor of Airway Heights, won't be dismissed and their forthcoming trial won't be moved from Spokane at this time, U.S. District Court Judge Edward Shea ruled Thursday. Two bribery counts against Moe should be dismissed because the federal law they were brought under is vague and unconstitutional, defense attorney Mark Vovos argued to the court.
A man who had an assault rifle and a handgun in his car has been sentenced to 8 ½ years in federal prison after threatening another motorist during a road rage incident in downtown Spokane. Eugene Anthony Brown, who had three felony convictions prior to this incident, on Monday was sentenced to serve 103 months by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Frem Nielsen.
Four days after a judge ruled a 15-page police report should be kept from the public, some of the documents were released to a Spokane television station Tuesday by Deputy Mayor Jack Lynch and his private attorney. The documents, posted Tuesday evening on KXLY.com, confirm previously published reports that Lynch's vehicles were spotted by police in August in High Bridge Park – an area known for illegal activity.
People interested in improving citizen oversight of police in Spokane need to speak up now, Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick told about two dozen people at a public forum on the topic Wednesday night. "Of course, we'd expected a lot more people," the chief said, before introducing Sam Pailca, a police oversight expert from Seattle, "who's going to lead us through this project."
Three brothers are charged with committing the Nov. 28 armed robbery of the Safeway Federal Credit Union in northeast Spokane. Dustin Rockstrom, 24, Gregory Rockstrom, 21, and their half-brother, Brad Rockstrom, 24, were arrested Wednesday when FBI agents and Spokane police officers served arrest and search warrants at 6010 and 6014 N. Nettleton and 906 E. Rich.
The operator of a large-scale Spokane escort service is accused of laundering more than $3 million in profits from her alleged prostitution ring through Northern Quest Casino, where authorities say she also occasionally hustled customers. Cheryl Mae Larson remained in jail Friday under a $500,000 bond on state charges of money laundering and promoting prostitution, both felonies.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the conviction and sentence of Sally L. Gibson, a Spokane Realtor who was a key player in a $1.4 million mortgage fraud scheme. Without comment, the federal appeals court issued an order last week affirming Gibson's 2004 conviction and the sentence handed down in March 2005 by U.S. District Court Judge Robert Whaley.
A new model for citizen oversight of police in Spokane is needed and on the way, Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick told an audience Tuesday night as they flooded her with questions and issues about misconduct. When she was hired as chief only four months ago, Kirkpatrick said she knew the issues of police accountability and citizen oversight "were huge topics in this community because of the high-profile cases that had occurred."
The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the conviction and sentence of Sally L. Gibson, a Spokane Realtor who was a key player in a $1.4 million mortgage fraud scheme. Without comment, the federal appeals court issued an order last week affirming Gibson's 2004 conviction and the sentence handed down in March 2005 by U.S. District Court Judge Robert Whaley.
A citizen should not have the legal right to ask a judge to bring criminal charges against a sheriff's deputy, the Spokane County prosecutor's office said Friday in court filings. Deputy Prosecutor Brian O'Brien advanced the argument in formally asking District Court Judge Sara Derr to reverse her ruling allowing two county sheriff's deputies to be charged with animal cruelty for using their Taser stun guns to kill an escaped calf.
Spokane Deputy Mayor Jack Lynch has further extended his medical leave, city officials confirmed on Friday. The city's second most powerful official was supposed to return to his job Wednesday. No reason was given for the extension of the leave. It's the second time Lynch has taken sick leave since September.
There is probable cause to formally charge two Spokane County sheriff's deputies with animal cruelty in connection with the Taser death of a black Angus calf last spring, a judge ruled Monday. Spokane County District Court Judge Sara Derr, acting on a citizen's petition, ruled there is sufficient evidence to charge sheriff's deputies Damon Simmons and Ballard Bates with second-degree animal cruelty, a misdemeanor.
A consultant's efficiency study of Spokane city government has been given to City Council members under promises of secrecy, and Mayor Dennis Hession refused again Tuesday to make the report public. Next week is the earliest that copies of the $260,000 study paid for by taxpayers will be released, a city spokeswoman said.
Noel and Jeanette Davis decided in 1971 that it would be a wise financial investment to buy shares in a mile-square piece of property destined to be a drag strip and racetrack west of Spokane. So, on a monthly payment plan, with $500 down, they eventually bought three "A shares" in Washington Motorsports. Their $1,500 investment helped a limited partnership eventually build Spokane Raceway Park.
A teenage girl who alleges she was raped by an on-duty firefighter in a Spokane fire station filed a civil rights lawsuit Friday in U.S. District Court, seeking unspecified damages. The filing of the suit comes after a $1 million claim for damages sought by the girl, who's now 17, was rejected by the city of Spokane, which is self-insured.
For the second time in five weeks, Spokane County is being sued over the use of a Taser gun by a sheriff's deputy. Daniel Brian Strange seeks $1.5 million and additional unspecified punitive damages and attorney fees in his suit filed Tuesday in Superior Court.
