Man beaten in alley dies

A Spokane man badly beaten in an alley late last month died this week and two teenage suspects have been charged with his murder. Police say a print on the face of Kent S. Moses, 60, matched a shoe worn by Nicholas A. Parrish, who is charged with first-degree murder. His alleged accomplice, Justin A. Summa, is charged with second-degree murder. Both boys turned 17 in October. Parrish is in Spokane County Juvenile Detention Center; Summa is out on $100,000 bond. Moses died of head trauma Wednesday at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center, where he’d been since police and medics found him Nov. 29 in an alley behind his home near Bridge Avenue and Nettleton Street. Moses, who police say suffered from other medical conditions, was wearing slippers. His upper dentures and three ribs were broken. “I think they were just intoxicated and just picked a fight with this guy,” Spokane police Lt. Dave McGovern said of the suspects. “He was just out in his backyard.” A friend of the boys said they’d been drinking at his apartment near the alley but were kicked out “because they became belligerent,” according to court documents. Moses was beaten soon after that, prosecutors allege. Parrish told police that “he had stomped on the ‘old guy’s head,’ ” according to court documents, but that he was too drunk to remember anything more. Police say Summa told them he hit Moses in the lower ribs. Summa’s girlfriend told detectives that Parrish was the assailant and that Summa had tried to stop him. She also said Parrish had returned to the alley to rifle through Moses’ pockets and beat him again, according to court documents. Parrish denied this, police said, but the allegations led to his increased charge of premeditated murder. Parrish has juvenile felony convictions for third-degree assault and car theft. Summa has two juvenile misdemeanor convictions for assault and trespass. He attended North Central High School before he was arrested. He posted $75,000 bail after he was charged with first-degree assault Dec. 3 but was arrested on the murder charge Thursday. He posted $100,000 bond Friday and was released. Parrish remains in Spokane County Juvenile Detention Center on $150,000 bond, which was set by Spokane County Superior Court Judge Ellen Kalama Clark Friday.