Pair Plead Guilty To Endangerment In Rafting Death Of 3-Year-Old

Sat., Aug. 22, 1998

From Staff

A woman whose 3-year-old daughter drowned during a rafting trip has pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment and failure to provide enough life jackets.

Stephanie Courville died Aug. 10, 1997, after the raft she was riding in flipped on the Puyallup River.

Her mother, Brandi M. Blake, and Blake’s boyfriend, Robert Gibson, 25, who was also in the raft, pleaded guilty to identical charges.

On Tuesday, Pierce County District Court Commissioner Margaret Ross suspended sentencing of the couple for two years. If they pay $200 fines, take first-aid and boating safety courses and don’t break the law, the charges will then be dismissed.

Gibson’s lawyer, Les Tolzin, said Gibson and Blake entered so-called “Newton pleas,” meaning they didn’t admit responsibility, but pleaded guilty to take advantage of a plea bargain.

Reckless endangerment is a gross misdemeanor and carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a $5,000 fine. Failing to provide sufficient life jackets is a misdemeanor, with a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Courville was riding in the raft with her mother, Gibson and Gibson’s two young sons. None wore life jackets, investigators said.

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