Teen enters Alford plea in stabbing, theft

An 18-pack of Bud Light and his share of $210 from a stolen wallet cost a Spokane youth the price of entering adulthood inside a state prison.

Nicholas F. Clark, 17, had no criminal record until Friday, when he entered an Alford plea to two counts of first-degree robbery in connection with an incident Feb. 18 that left two men bleeding from cuts and stab wounds.

“Young people go to prison for doing stupid things,” Deputy Prosecutor Mark Cipolla said. “We hope this is the last time we see Mr. Clark.”

Under an Alford plea, Clark acknowledged the facts of the case are such that he could have been convicted of the robberies and two additional counts of first-degree assault if the case had gone to trial.

“I’d just like to say I believe I’m not guilty … but I want to avoid doing a lot of time. I’m not a bad kid,” Clark told the judge.

Superior Court Judge Harold Clarke sentenced Clark to serve the minimum sentence of just over three years in state prison.

“Oftentimes, who you associate yourself with dictates what happens in your life.” the judge said. “Most of the time, lessons … are relatively minor. In this case, it obviously is not because of the serious nature of what occurred.”

Cipolla and Assistant Public Defender Kari Reardon both agreed that Clark was not holding the knife that night when Sean Allbery and Cody Snyder were walking near Jefferson Street and Wellesley Avenue. Snyder was holding a recently purchased 18-pack of beer when they were assaulted by three males and a female.

Snyder refused a demand to hand over the beer, and Allbery refused an order to give up his wallet. Both said they were attacked by the three males later identified as 21-year-old Chad Bolstad, Clark, and a 16-year-old boy. The suspects were also accompanied by a 15-year-old girl, who was Clark’s girlfriend, according to court records.

After the attackers fled with the beer and wallet, Allbery discovered he had been stabbed and cut in several locations including wounds to his rib cage, chest and head. Snyder had possible nerve and tendon damage to his triceps area from a severe cut.

Officers arrived with Officer Dan Lesser, who used his police dog to track the suspects west on Princeton. In a yard, the dog focused on a backpack and a nearby bloody compact disc.

Inside the backpack, officers found a Shadle Park ID belonging to Clark. Through questioning, they identified all the suspects including Bolstad, who “admitted to being the one with the knife,” according to court records.

Bolstad’s trial is scheduled for June, Cipolla said.

Reardon, who represented Clark, said she believes the other two juvenile cases are pending as well.

“It could have been a whole lot worse at trial,” Reardon said. “It’s always difficult when you are dealing with someone this young.”

Clark cried when his mother, Tina O’Brien, gave a tearful plea for leniency.

“He tried to help what he thought were friends, and this is what happened,” O’Brien said.

One of the many family members and friends in the courtroom asked the judge if Clark’s brothers and sisters could hug him before he was sent off to jail.

The judge denied it. “It’s not my decision to make,” he said.