Man gets 10 years for role in attack

Sat., Aug. 14, 2004

By John Craig johnc@spokesman.com

One of two men accused of fracturing an 89-year-old South Hill woman’s skull while snatching her purse has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.

The sentence handed down Thursday by Spokane County Superior Court Judge Kathleen O’Connor is twice the standard maximum that 33-year-old Michael G. Baldwin was facing.

Deputy Prosecutor Larry Steinmetz sought a 15-year sentence, but defense attorney Steven Marsalis argued that would be excessive, in part because Baldwin “was not the primary actor.”

Gilbert A. Hicks, 24, is accused of snatching Belle Ensminger’s purse, which had been draped over her arm, causing a fall that fractured her skull and left her with permanent brain damage. Hicks is tentatively scheduled for trial Sept. 13 before Judge Robert Austin.

In a non-jury trial last month, O’Connor convicted Baldwin as charged with first-degree robbery for his role as the getaway driver in the purse-snatching. O’Connor also convicted Baldwin of first-degree theft for helping steal the van he was driving when the purse-snatching occurred.

Based on his other convictions — second-degree burglary, second-degree theft and drug possession — Baldwin faced a standard sentence of 46 to 61 months.

The purse-snatching occurred Feb. 26 in the alley behind Clay and Belle Ensminger’s home in the 2500 block of South Tekoa as they were getting ready to drive to the Northern Quest Casino in Airway Heights.

Belle Ensminger had just helped her husband of 53 years into the driver’s seat of their car. Clay Ensminger, 76, suffers from multiple sclerosis and uses a walker.

Clay Ensminger said he heard a vehicle drive up and then his wife yelled, “No, no, no.” Ensminger found his wife lying on the pavement and bleeding. She was hospitalized in critical condition.

Steinmetz argued for an above-standard sentence for Baldwin on grounds that Belle Ensminger was targeted because she was especially vulnerable. He said Baldwin and Hicks had been looking for something to steal, and Ensminger’s purse was an easy mark.

Steinmetz said the 5-foot-2, 125-pound Ensminger was defenseless not only because of her age and size, but because she was legally blind.

Police said Baldwin and Hicks, whose fingerprint was found inside the stolen van, took $600 from Ensminger’s purse and drove to an Applebee’s restaurant to celebrate with martinis.

Court records show that Baldwin confessed and named Hicks as the actual purse-snatcher.

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