Sentencing of 31-time offender frustrates prosecutor, police

In mid-January, guards set prolific burglar Christopher Cannata free from state prison in Shelton, Washington.

Within four days, he began a petty crime spree that included trespassing, theft and driving infractions.

Fast forward another month and Cannata had returned to Spokane and broke into Chaps Restaurant to steal cash and electronics, according to court records. Today, he’s back in jail on a $100,000 bond for that burglary.

If history is any indication, Cannata, a 42-year-old with 31 prior felony convictions, won’t spend much time in prison if he’s convicted of the restaurant break-in.

And since he is not accused of hurting anyone, he won’t be put on probation or subject to any type of supervision once he’s out of prison.

That aggravates police and prosecutors.

“It’s really frustrating for us,” said Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Shane Smith, who leads the property crimes unit. “We take these people and convict them. Someone like him can get half his sentence off because of good behavior.”

A judge sentenced Cannata to 24 months in prison in June for stealing electronics and camping gear from an SUV parked at Trinity Lutheran Church.

He was given credit for the six months he’d been in jail awaiting trial and sent to prison in Shelton, where he served another six months.

That’s because state law allows prisons to give nonviolent offenders a 50 percent reduction in their prison sentence for good behavior, Smith said.

“They’re in prison for a short period of time, if at all, and when they’re released they’re not supervised. It’s just a formula for more property crimes,” the deputy prosecutor said.

Cannata was released from the prison in Shelton on Jan. 12 and, according to court records, immediately ran afoul of the law.

During the next several days, he was accused of trespassing and theft in Shelton; ticketed down the road in Olympia for driving with a suspended license; and cited for reckless driving, and driving with a suspended license in Kittitas County en route to Spokane.

Even before Cannata was arrested March 24 in connection with the Chaps Restaurant burglary, he was on the radar of the Spokane Police Department’s Chronic Offender Unit. Created last year, the police team tries to help repeat offenders with housing, drug treatment, employment and whatever else they need in hopes of helping them break the cycle of crime. The unit closely monitors the offenders to make sure they are following the rules.

Spokane police Officer Kyle Yrigollen said he had been looking for Cannata for a couple weeks before he was arrested. Yrigollen later met with him in the Spokane County Jail to see if Cannata was interested in the program.

“He was very apprehensive,” Yrigollen said. “You could just read it in his body language.”

As the interview progressed, however, Cannata opened up and seemed excited about the program, Yrigollen said. Cannata said he hoped to get treatment for his methamphetamine addiction, the officer said.

“That’s been his biggest barrier and that’s why he’s continuing to commit crimes, in his opinion,” Yrigollen said.

Efforts to interview Cannata inside the jail were unsuccessful.

The true test won’t come until Cannata is back on the street and has to follow through with drug treatment and other requirements. Yrigollen said he’s hopeful that things will go well.

“You can get a read on people,” he said. “He was very sincere later on in the interview. You could tell he was very receptive.”