Murder Suspect Pleads Innocent

Jason V. Kukrall pleaded innocent Thursday in the Jan. 11 killing of Elk-area resident Steve Roscoe.

Pend Oreille County Superior Court Judge Larry Kristianson scheduled a trial March 13 on the first-degree murder charge against Kukrall. If convicted and sentenced in the standard range, Kukrall faces 21 years and nine months in prison to almost 29 years.

Kukrall, 21, and 18-year-old Tobias R. Stackhouse, both of the Elk area, are accused of fatally shooting Roscoe after he came home and caught them burglarizing his house. Kristianson entered an innocent plea for Stackhouse on Jan. 26 after Stackhouse declined to plead.

Neither defendant has requested bail, and both remain in the county jail.

They are also suspects in the Dec. 1 stabbing murder of Linda A. Guillen, 21, near Playfair Race Track in Spokane. Police say Guillen was struck in the head and stabbed repeatedly.

Kukrall and Stackhouse also have been implicated in a Jan. 7 burglary and assault that left 60-year-old Elk resident Mary Foster with a fractured skull and amnesia.