Tombari Was Headed For Trouble Shooting Victim Was Target Of Undercover Drug Agents

Vito Tombari would have faced federal drug charges if he hadn’t been gunned down Monday, said the coordinator of the Spokane Regional Drug Task Force.

Undercover agents bought methamphetamine and crack cocaine from Tombari on several occasions, said Sheriff’s Lt. Lorin Sperry.

Agents were trying to build a good case against Tombari by returning often to buy drugs.

“We wanted to get enough … to put him away for 20 years,” Sperry said.

Also, Sperry said, agents hoped Tombari would lead them to other, bigger dealers.

Tombari, 40, died outside his Spokane apartment, 516 S. Cannon, after calling police to say he’d been shot by Kenneth D. Gooch.

Police later arrested Gooch, 40, and Susan D. Boatright, 35, who are charged with second-degree murder.

A District Court judge on Tuesday set bond at $100,000 each. Police say they don’t know the motive for the killing.

Gooch and Boatright have extensive police records, as did Tombari.

Gooch was convicted in 1991 of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

The verdict was overturned when U.S. District Court Judge Justin Quackenbush, now semi-retired, ruled police should have obtained a search warrant before searching Gooch’s tent at a state campground.

“We tried to put Kenneth Gooch away for 15 years,” the minimum sentence under federal guidelines, said juror Carol Rodda. “Judge Quackenbush threw the whole thing out.”

, DataTimes