In brief: Judge accepts Harpham plea

A federal judge has accepted the guilty plea of Kevin W. Harpham for leaving a bomb along the route of the Martin Luther King Jr. Unity March in downtown Spokane in January.

After accepting the plea late Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge Justin Quackenbush will now determine at the Nov. 30 sentencing how much time Harpham will serve in prison. He faces a range of 27 to 32 years.

Harpham, 37, pleaded guilty in September to attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to injure people in a hate crime. Two other charges – possessing a “destructive device” illegally and using one in a crime of violence – are to be dismissed.

Quackenbush said in his opinion that sealed case files should be open soon. He set a deadline of Nov. 16 for attorneys to make objections to the release of the files.

Thomas Clouse

Jurors seen in room with Zehm news

Attorneys for both sides of the case against convicted Spokane police Officer Karl F. Thompson Jr. filed legal briefs Thursday indicating that jurors were in a room on Nov. 1 with two televisions broadcasting a news ticker indicating that Otto Zehm was “mentally ill.”

Neither side established in court records if jurors saw the news ticker or if it influenced their decision. U.S. District Court Judge Fred Van Sickle had barred attorneys from telling the jury about Zehm’s innocence, mental illness, cognitive function and that he was not using drugs.

Van Sickle has not given a specific time when he will rule on a motion by the defense to question the jurors about the broadcasts.

Thompson was convicted last week of using excessive force and lying to cover up his confrontation with Zehm in 2006. He died two days after he was beaten at least 13 times with a baton and shocked four times with a Taser. A medical examiner concluded Zehm died from lack of oxygen to the brain due to heart failure while being restrained on his stomach.

Thomas Clouse

Naples man charged in woman’s death

A North Idaho man is charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of a 43-year-old woman.

The Bonner County Daily Bee reports 61-year-old John August Funkhouser of Naples was arrested Nov. 4 and is being held at the Boundary County Jail on $1 million bail. The murder charge was filed Monday.

Prosecutors say Funkhouser called 911 on Friday and told dispatchers he shot and killed Anna Old in the house they shared south of Bonners Ferry.

Responding deputies said Old appeared to have been dead for some time.

Chief Deputy Sheriff Rich Stephens says Old was shot once in the back of the head. He says the relationship between the two is still under investigation.

A second-degree murder charge alleges the homicide was not premeditated but was deliberate.

Associated Press