Five accused of kidnapping, torture
Police say woman was abducted from motel
Five suspects have been accused of kidnapping and torturing a Spokane woman before shaving her head and writing “narc” and “thief” on her face.
Waylon M. “Creeper” Azure, 33, pleaded not guilty to kidnapping and torture charges Thursday in Spokane County Superior Court, five weeks after police say he helped abduct Doreen Wiker from the Select Inn, 1420 W. Second Ave., in Spokane.
Wiker said one of her assailants was in a wheelchair when he threatened her with the gun.
Police believe that man was Azure – a reputed gang member who has used a wheelchair since being paralyzed in a car crash in 1993. His family expressed disbelief at the allegations after his arraignment Thursday.
“How can a paraplegic kidnap somebody?” asked his cousin, Jody Piapot. “He is not violent at all.”
Family members said Azure was romantically involved with another suspect in the case, Desiree N. Walling, but that they never knew him to associate with the other suspects, Russell A. Rosin, 36; Matthew T. Watkins, 25; and Garth F. Haskins.
A $100,000 warrant has been issued for Haskins’ arrest; the other suspects already are in jail.
Wiker told Spokane police she was in the motel room for about 45 minutes April 3 with two men when a woman, who detectives believe was Walling, returned and became angry with Wiker for spending time with the men. The assailants also believed Wiker had stolen from friends, according to a probable cause affidavit.
“She was also mad at Wiker because she had her own children taken away by (Child Protective Services) but Wiker did not,” according to a probable cause affidavit.
That’s when Azure pulled a gun from a duffel bag and ordered her to sit in a chair, where she was bound while her clothes were cut off with a small pair of scissors, the affidavit said.
Azure also spit in her face and instructed a woman police believe to be Walling to inject Wiker with drugs, but she refused, police say.
“No, she needs to feel the pain,” she said, according to the affidavit.
Wiker said she was walked from the motel room to a car, then driven to a rock quarry and abandoned. Police believe Rosin drove the car.
A motorist saw Wiker walking along Cheney-Spokane Road and drove her to the hospital.
Detectives say Azure “admitted to many of the allegations” but said there was no gun involved and that Walling committed “most of the acts against the victim.”
Azure’s public defender, Dennis Dressler, said Thursday that Azure has family ties in Spokane and is incapable of fleeing far because he’s in a wheelchair.
But Deputy Prosecutor Kyle Treece said the allegations are “incredibly egregious” when he called for a high bond for Azure, despite his lack of a substantial criminal history.
“This defendant, while in a wheelchair, can be very much a danger to the community,” Treece said.
Spokane County Superior Court Judge Michael Price called the allegations “incredible” but said Azure still is innocent until proven guilty.
He dropped his bond on a drug possession charge to $2,500 from $50,000, and bond on the kidnapping and assault charges to $20,000 from $100,000.