State Senator Could Face Felony Charge Olympia Police Continuing Their Investigation Of West’s Threatening Phone Call To Lobbyist

State Sen. Jim West could face a felony charge for his threatening phone call to a lobbyist.

A spokeswoman for the city of Olympia said Thursday that police expect to complete their investigation of the incident by early next week.

“We will probably turn this over to the Thurston County prosecutor at that time,” Cathie Butler said.

Olympia police initially had expected to present the case to the city prosecutor. But Butler said further study has them leaning toward the county prosecutor’s office, which handles more serious crimes.

State law on telephone harassment says calling people and threatening them with injury is a gross misdemeanor. Calling with a threat to kill is a felony.

The standard sentence for that felony is one to three months in jail, but the maximum penalty is five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Butler said police conducted a second interview Wednesday with lobbyist Tom McCabe, executive director of the Building Industry Association of Washington. They hope to talk with West a second time if he’s willing, she added.

West, a Spokane Republican, has admitted leaving an anonymous message on the answering machine at McCabe’s office last week after the association had paid for two full-page ads in The Spokesman-Review.

“McCabe, you son of a bitch, you better get me, ‘cause if you don’t, you’re dead,” the message said.

The newspaper ads praised legislation that was in the Senate Ways and Means Committee that West chairs. The association said the bills would provide a better way to pay for school construction.

The building industry wanted the state to give local school districts the option of dropping impact fees on new developments in exchange for a guaranteed 10 percent of the excise tax paid on all real estate sales.

Supporters said it’s fairer for all home buyers to pay for school construction; opponents complained about the loss of money to the state’s general fund, nearly half of which goes to schools.

The ads asked readers to call or write West to urge him to support the bills.

The legislation died last Friday in the committee. West left scathing messages for local representatives of the building industry, then made the anonymous call to McCabe’s Olympia office.

West said he was referring to political death, not physical death, when he left the message for McCabe.

A spokeswoman for the building association confirmed that McCabe was interviewed Wednesday but said neither he nor the group would comment.

, DataTimes