Guilty plea entered in 2004 stabbing
A 23-year-old man has pleaded guilty in the 2004 stabbing death of a 17-year-old Spokane youth at a party where several underage youths were drinking.
Rick A. Kelly was scheduled to stand trial a second time Aug. 28 for second-degree murder in the Dec. 4, 2004, death of Justin Snyder. But Kelly pleaded guilty this week to the reduced charges of second-degree manslaughter and third-degree assault.
Kelly’s first trial ended late last month in a mistrial after a clerk mistakenly took pictures to jury members that they weren’t supposed to see.
Superior Court Judge Harold Clarke sentenced Kelly to 41 months in prison after he pleaded guilty Tuesday.
At the hearing, Kelly apologized to the victim’s family, judicial assistant Linda Birdsong said.
Kelly was given credit for a year-and-a-half in jail so he must serve about two years before he is eligible for release, Birdsong said.
Kelly had said he stabbed Snyder and Snyder’s friend, Jade P. Britton, in self-defense. All the witnesses agreed Snyder and Britton started the fight.
Crash injuries not as bad as feared
A head-on collision Thursday afternoon demolished two vehicles but did not end in life-threatening injuries that emergency workers initially feared.
The most seriously injured person in the 2:45 p.m. crash at Holland Road and Nevada Street – 43-year-old Douglas Joslyn, of Hayden, Idaho – was in satisfactory condition Thursday evening at Deaconess Medical Center.
Spokane police spokesman Cpl. Tom Lee said Joslyn was cited for failure to yield when he attempted a left turn onto Holland Road from Nevada Street and drove his pickup into the path of an oncoming Dodge Durango sport utility vehicle, driven by Spokane resident Darnell R. Schmidt.
Schmidt, 29, and her 6-month-old son, Kody Schmidt, suffered only minor injuries, according to Lee. He said the baby was riding in a car seat in the back seat of the Durango.
Sex offenders move into downtown
Three Level 3 sex offenders have recently moved into Spokane’s downtown area.
John D. Anderson, 36, is described as 5 feet 10 inches, weighing 180 pounds with blue eyes and brown hair, Spokane police spokesman Cpl. Tom Lee said. His left hand has a tattoo that says “Ozzy.”
Anderson was convicted of indecent liberties, attempted second-degree burglary and robbery, and obstructing a public servant, Lee said. Anderson is an untreated sex offender.
James W. Piovesan, 51, is described as 6 feet tall and 180 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes.
Piovesan has convictions in Washington and Arizona, Lee said. In 2005, he was convicted in Asotin County of luring with sexual motivation, which involved a 9-year-old girl, and for failure to register as a sex offender. In 1975, he was convicted in Arizona of an aggravated assault involving a 4-year-old girl.
Piovesan will be supervised by the Department of Corrections, Lee said.
David M. Kreienbrink, 25, is described as 6 feet 2 inches and 225 pounds with brown hair and hazel eyes, Lee said. He wears glasses.
Kreienbrink has been convicted of second-degree child rape involving a 12-year-old girl, Lee said.
He has admitted having sexual contact with several other young girls, who were 8 and 9 years old. He also had sex with a 13-year-old boy.
Kreienbrink is considered to be a high risk to the community because of the likelihood he may reoffend, Lee said. Kreienbrink is not supposed to have contact with children younger than 16.
Convenience store robber sought
Police are seeking a man in an armed robbery at a South Hill convenience store early Thursday.
A man in a ski mask robbed a clerk at the Zip Trip store, 1523 W. 10th Ave., at 3:38 a.m., Spokane police spokesman Cpl. Tom Lee said.
The robber showed a handgun and got away with an undisclosed amount of cash.
The clerk was not injured, Lee said.
The man was described as a black male in his 20s, about 5 feet 5 inches tall with a thin build, police said. He was wearing a dark ski mask, an unbuttoned red shirt with a gray shirt underneath and baggy pants.
Anyone with information is asked to call (509) 242-8477.
Teen council taking applications
The Chase Youth Commission’s Teen Advisory Council is reorganizing for the upcoming school year, and teenagers interested in joining the council should apply by Sept. 8.
The council of as many as 130 members gives youths a chance to have a voice on youth-related issues, and the council works on several programs, including BOBfest battle of the bands and the Chase Youth Awards.
For more information or a Teen Advisory Council application, contact Wendy Acosta of the Spokane Regional Youth Department at wacosta@spokanecity.org or by phone at (509) 625-6054.
The first meeting will be from 7 to 9 p.m. Sept. 12 at City Hall.
Compiled from staff reports