Hit man case suspect seeks lower bail

A Suncrest man accused of trying to hire an assassin to attack his pregnant ex-girlfriend and kill their unborn child wants a Stevens County judge to slash his bail today and release him pending trial.

Also today, Deputy Prosecutor John Troberg wants to reduce the charges against the defendant, Charles David Young, 18.

Young, 16028 Suncrest Drive, is charged with solicitation of first-degree murder in connection with the 17-year-old girl, who was eight months pregnant at the time, and with solicitation of first-degree manslaughter in connection with her fetus.

Washington’s manslaughter law applies specifically to the death of an unborn child capable of living outside its mother’s womb.

Young allegedly told an undercover detective, posing as a hit man, that he wanted his ex-girlfriend beaten in the stomach hard enough to kill her unborn child. Sheriff’s detectives arrested Young Oct. 11 when he allegedly drew a map to the girl’s home and gave the undercover officer $1,620 to attack her.

A Superior Court judge reduced Young’s original $1 million bail to $500,000 on Oct. 24, rejecting defense attorney Bevan Maxey’s request for a bail of $30,000 to $40,000. Maxey planned to seek Young’s release today on a bail of $100,000 cash.

Troberg said he would oppose the request.

Troberg contended in charging documents that beating the girl hard enough to kill her fetus would pose a “grave risk” to her life, demonstrating “extreme indifference to human life” that would justify a charge of soliciting first-degree murder.

But Troberg later determined the charge may have been inappropriate. He planned a motion today to amend the murder-solicitation charge to solicitation of first-degree assault with aggravating factors.

The change would reduce Young’s standard sentence, if convicted of soliciting an attack on his former girlfriend, from a range of 15 to 20 years to a range of approximately 5 3/4 to 7 3/4 years in prison.

However, Young could get anything up to life in prison if a jury agreed with Troberg that the crime was aggravated because the victim was especially vulnerable or because he knew she was pregnant.

Troberg will argue that any sentence on the assault-solicitation charge automatically must be consecutive with a sentence on the manslaughter-solicitation charge.

A conviction for soliciting first-degree manslaughter would carry a standard range of approximately 5 to 6 1/2 years in prison – potentially resulting in an overall sentence of approximately 10 3/4 to 14 years.