Judge pushes back hearing on Coe trial
A judge has postponed a hearing that will determine whether the state has enough evidence to proceed with a civil trial to commit convicted rapist Kevin Coe as a sexually violent predator.
Coe, 59, was scheduled to appear Oct. 30 for a hearing to determine whether the state has probable cause to proceed to trial.
At the request of attorneys, Superior Court Judge Kathleen O’Connor agreed Wednesday to postpone the hearing until Dec. 18.
Assistant Attorney General Todd Bowers said the state has not yet finished redacting all of the thousands of pages of evidence in the case. Therefore, defense attorney Tim Trageser and Coe have not had enough opportunity to view all of the files.
If O’Connor agrees with the state at the December hearing, she would later preside over a jury trial seeking to keep Coe indefinitely in the state’s Special Commitment Center for sex offenders in Pierce County.
Coe was arrested in 1981 and charged with six rapes. He initially was convicted on four counts, but after two rounds of appeals just one rape conviction remained. For that case, Coe was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
He was scheduled to be released from prison Sept. 8, but he was transferred to the Pierce County facility until the civil commitment process is decided. That process could take as long as two years.
– Thomas Clouse
Denver
Delta jetliner lands with gear problems
A Delta Airlines flight, which originated in Spokane early Wednesday afternoon, reported problems with its landing gear but landed safely at Denver International Airport.
No injuries were reported when the MD-90 landed about 5:30 p.m. Pacific Time. The 146 passengers and five crew members were taken off the plane and bused to the terminal.
Delta spokeswoman Gina Laughlin said Flight 1636, which traveled from Spokane to Salt Lake City earlier in the day, was starting to land at the Denver airport when the trouble began.
“The nose gear would not extend downward, so the pilots followed their standard procedure and landed the airplane with the nose gear in the up position,” Laughlin said.
– Associated Press
Sandpoint
Elk hunters find human skull, clothing
A couple hunting for elk early Wednesday morning found what is likely a human skull and clothing in the Grouse Creek area north of Sandpoint.
Detectives with the Bonner County Sheriff’s Department didn’t return phone calls. Coroner Kathryn Rose said she hadn’t seen the skull but said her impression from talking with deputies is that it’s clean bone, meaning it’s likely old.
She said she isn’t aware of any missing people in the area.
– Erica Curless