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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Man arraigned in home-invasion robbery

Thomas Clouse Staff writer

A suspect in a home-invasion robbery that was thwarted by gunfire was arraigned Tuesday in Spokane County Superior Court.

Derrick D. Taylor, 29, whose name is also spelled Derick in court records, was arraigned Tuesday on the charges of first-degree kidnapping, robbery, burglary and two counts of first-degree assault in connection with a reported home-invasion robbery on March 30 in which the victims allegedly shot the co-defendant.

Taylor is being held at the county jail in lieu of $250,000 bond.

Thomas A. Butler, 25, suffered two gunshot wounds to the abdomen and was listed in critical condition at the time of the incident.

Butler was treated at Deaconess Medical Center, but the nursing supervisor said the hospital did not have a patient listed by that name.

According to police reports, Taylor and Butler forced their way into a home at 4113 E. 16th Ave. One of them pistol-whipped one of the residents and held a gun to his head, according to police reports.

Another of the residents, all of whom were students at Eastern Washington University, heard the commotion and grabbed his 9 mm pistol.

The resident fired at the man holding a gun to his roommate’s head. Officers arrived and found Butler lying in the backyard next door with two gunshot wounds and a gun next to him on the ground, according to court records.

Detectives located Taylor the next day at his residence at 1314 N. Cochran St. and charged him in the case.

All three witnesses picked Taylor out of a photo lineup and identified him as one of the two men who entered their home.

On Tuesday, Superior Court Judge Ellen Kalama Clark set Taylor’s trial date for June 29.