Felon Faces Firearms Counts Man Also Accused Of Assault On Officer

Thu., Feb. 11, 1999

By Bill Morlin billm@spokesman.com

A man who was at the center of gang-related violence late last year in Spokane now faces federal firearms charges and is accused of assaulting a police officer in California.

Robert Collier, 29, was arraigned Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Spokane on charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

He is being held in the Spokane County Jail without bail until he stands trial on the federal charges.

Collier also faces extradition to Los Angeles, where he has been charged with felony assault on a police officer, Assistant U.S. Attorney Ron Skibbie said Wednesday.

The federal charges against Collier developed after an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

ATF agents began their investigation after police stopped a car in a southeast Spokane neighborhood at 3 a.m. Oct. 16.

Officers arrested the driver on charges of driving with a suspended license and questioned Collier, who was a passenger.

During a pat-down search, officers found 10mm ammunition on Collier and later found a Glock semiautomatic handgun in the car, authorities said.

A small amount of marijuana also was found in the car.

Collier was booked into jail and released after a few days. He was arrested again nine days after the Nov. 8 near-fatal shooting of a gang member in northwest Spokane.

Patrick Sardin, 25, was shot in the face and chest as he sat in a parked car at 2317 W. Fairview.

Police at the time said they feared the shooting might spark gang warfare, but that did not materialize.

Collier was booked into jail on an attempted murder charge on Nov. 17, but a formal charge was not filed.

Authorities said a formal charge wasn’t filed because the victim, who recovered, apparently left the area and didn’t want to cooperate with investigators.

On the day Collier was arrested, police used a warrant to search a home at 1854 W. College, where he had been living.

In that West Central neighborhood home, police discovered 11 firearms, including three stolen guns, and 32 ounces of crack cocaine.

Police said some of the guns were loaded and placed in strategic spots in the suspected drug house.

Collier was convicted in January in Spokane County Superior Court of conspiracy to deliver a controlled substance. He was given three days in jail. Collier has at least two previous felony convictions in California, court records show. He was convicted in 1993 of purchase of cocaine base and in 1991 of second-degree robbery.

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