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Editorial: Crabtree case raises issues of favoritism, DUI repeaters

Fri., Dec. 3, 2010

James L. Crabtree nearly killed a Spokane County sheriff’s deputy nine years ago on Bigelow Gulch Road when his car smashed head-on into a patrol car at 74 miles per hour. The deputy, Earl Howerton, was lucky to survive. So was Crabtree, who would end up serving a five-year sentence for vehicular assault and several counts of possessing and selling cocaine.

Despite that conviction and three other dangerous driving incidents, including one last month, Crabtree is free to drive today. We hope he doesn’t, but we’re not optimistic. He has a dismal record of learning lessons, even the hard way.

The Crabtree saga touches on a couple of hot topics: what to do with repeat driving-under-the-influence offenders and perceptions of law enforcement favoritism. Crabtree served as a sheriff’s deputy in the 1980s, and his father was a captain for the Spokane Police Department. It was at his father’s behest that then-Police Chief Roger Bragdon and former Spokane County Prosecutor Donald Brockett wrote letters to the judge asking for leniency for Crabtree in the Howerton case. The public and some law enforcement officers decried those letters as evidence of cronyism and favoritism.

The Spokesman-Review reported on Wednesday that the Spokane County prosecutor’s office did not file paperwork for a felony DUI charge in time to prevent restoration of his driving privileges. He was arrested on Nov. 17 after motorists said he had passed out and nearly collided with vehicles on Broadway Road in Spokane Valley. Witnesses prevented him from leaving after he reportedly rear-ended a vehicle at the Pines Road intersection.

A sheriff’s deputy smelled alcohol on Crabtree’s breath. A can of Four Loko, the high alcohol drink that has since been banned by the state, was found in his car. A prescription pill for anxiety was found in one of his pockets. Crabtree told deputies he had two beers. His blood alcohol level was recorded at 0.65 percent, which is below the 0.80 percent legal limit.

After the initial charge of negligent driving, a judge suspended Crabtree’s driving privileges. However, Deputy Prosecutor Mary Ann Brady is pondering a stiffer charge of felony DUI, but has yet to gather enough information to make a decision.

This does not mean that Crabtree will never be charged in this case, but it does mean he can drive in the meantime.

All of this is frustrating and distressing because it feeds into the perception that current and former law enforcement officers get special treatment. Public trust in the system is wavering, and officials need to do all they can to show that nobody gets special treatment and that public safety is the paramount concern.

Meanwhile, we implore Crabtree to stop driving and get whatever help he needs. As Howerton told The Spokesman-Review in 2004: “That wreck had the potential of taking two lives. I hope both of us walk away having learned something.”

For the safety of the community, we hope Crabtree is forced to learn a lesson he should have learned long ago.

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