Two Plead Innocent Female Suspect Says Third Abduction Was In Works

A woman charged in the kidnapping and rape of female Japanese exchange students told authorities she and two male accomplices were planning a third abduction before police arrested them Nov. 18.

Spokane County Deputy Prosecutor Larry Steinmetz revealed the information Tuesday at the arraignments of Edmund “Eddie” Ball III, David M. Dailey and Lana Vickery.

The three suspects were being held in the Spokane County Jail for their alleged roles in the abductions of three Japanese exchange students at Mukogawa Fort Wright Institute on Nov. 11.

Dailey and Vickery also are charged in the abductions of two Eastern Washington University students Oct. 28.

Dailey and Vickery pleaded not guilty to all the charges Tuesday. Ball is scheduled to do the same today.

Steinmetz asked Judge Linda Tompkins to keep bail for all three at $1million each because they are still a threat to the community, he said.

Vickery, 43, told police that the three “were prepared to commit a similar act before being arrested,” Steinmetz said.

But Vickery’s attorney, public defender George Caplan, said it’s too early to declare allegations as facts. “We’re stretching things by speculating that future activity would take place,” he said.

Caplan also said Vickery is a “stable member” of the community.

Vickery’s voiced cracked and she became emotional as she repeatedly said “not guilty” as Tompkins read the charges against her.

Tompkins lowered Vickery’s bail to $750,000 for cooperating with the police. Dailey and Ball are still being held on $1million bail.

All three appeared in court Tuesday, but Dave Hearrean, Ball’s attorney, received a severance allowing Ball to be tried separately. Vickery and Dailey face a Jan. 22 trial date.

Ball, 40, will be formally arraigned today at 1:30 p.m. before Judge Greg Sypolt. Ball is charged with three counts of first-degree kidnapping, two counts of first-degree rape and two counts of witness tampering in the Mukogawa abductions.

“He’s adamantly going to defend his innocence,” Hearrean said of Ball.

Dailey, 38, and Vickery face the same charges as Ball, plus two more counts of first-degree kidnapping and two counts of second-degree assault by torture for the abduction and assaults of two EWU students in Spokane.

Ball is the former president and co-founder of a bondage and sadomasochist group that has an estimated 250 members throughout the Northwest.

All three were part of the “Spokane Power Exchange,” which uses its Internet site to list weekly events, members’ birthdays and e-mail addresses.

Early in the investigation, the U.S. Customs Service in Washington, D.C., said agents who specialize in Internet pornography were assisting the Spokane investigation.

The sadomasochist group holds regular meetings on Saturdays. The two abductions occurred on Saturdays - Oct. 28 and Nov. 11.

In the first incident, two Japanese students from EWU accepted a ride and were taken to an isolated area on Cement Pipe Co. property in Spokane, where they were shocked with a stun gun.

The students escaped and ran to Yoke’s Foods on North Foothills Drive, and authorities were notified.

No police report of that incident was filed. Police are conducting an internal investigation to determine why there was no further investigation.

In the Mukogawa incident, three female students were picked up at a bus stop near the school. Investigators say one woman was released and two were taken to Vickery and Dailey’s home at 12910 E. Broadway, where police believe they were raped and assaulted over a seven-hour period.

The two women told police the suspects informed them that they were being filmed during their abduction.

The women said they were told if they reported the incident, the videos would be sent to their parents, Steinmetz said.

Vickery told police Ball destroyed the tape after news of the abduction became public.

In court Tuesday, attorneys for all three suspects told Tompkins that their clients are innocent, regardless of police or media reports.

Doug Phelps, Dailey’s attorney, unsuccessfully sought to get his bail reduced to $100,000.

“They are merely allegations at this point,” Phelps said. “One hundred thousand would be more than accurate for this type of charge.”

Phelps also asked Tompkins to impose a temporary gag order on police and prosecutors handling the case to prevent them from talking about the case to the media.

Tompkins said that request needs to be filed with the judge who will eventually preside over the case.

Caplan argued for an even lower bail for Vickery, saying she is not a flight risk since she cooperated with police and has family in Spokane. Vickery has lived a total of 20 years in Spokane.

She worked at Getronics in Liberty Lake before her job was terminated, Caplan said. After being laid off, Vickery went to work at the Castle Superstore, an adult entertainment store in the Valley.

On Nov. 18, police found evidence in a trash bin near the Castle Superstore related to the kidnappings of the exchange students.

Police still aren’t saying what was found or how it related to the abductions, police spokesman Dick Cottam said.

Castle Superstore manager Heather Jerrow said she hired Vickery after checking all of her references. Jerrow said Vickery also passed a drug test, which included submitting hair and urine samples.

The Castle Superstore Corp. is based in Phoenix and runs 13 stores throughout the West.

Jerrow said the company purchases and sells only products that come from large vendors who can produce goods in bulk quantities.