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

Convicted felon with ties to ex-prosecutor sentenced to 7 years

Matthew Baumrucker pleaded guilty to illegal possession of a firearm

Baumrucker
A convicted felon with ties to a former Spokane County deputy prosecutor was sentenced Monday to nearly 8 years in prison for unlawful possession of a firearm. Matthew Baumrucker, 32, was arrested in March 2014 at a motel in Spokane Valley. An investigation prompted by several suspicious jailhouse visits by Marriya Wright, a deputy prosecutor who has since pleaded guilty to aiding Baumrucker in eluding police capture. A search of phone records showed Baumrucker texted Wright 1,280 times during the month when police sought his arrest. His record shows six prior felony convictions. A witness identified Wright as the person who gave Baumrucker a ride about a week before his arrest. Wright was a witness in an internal investigation involving allegations of steroid use by former Spokane Police Sgt. Mel Taylor. Both Wright and Taylor were bodybuilders, and a search of Baumrucker’s Spokane County Jail cell after Wright’s visits revealed a photo of the deputy prosecutor in a bikini, according to court documents. Baumrucker has asked to serve his 92-month criminal sentence at a federal prison in Florida, to be closer to his family, according to court records. After pleading guilty to second-degree rendering criminal assistance, Wright avoided jail time but received a 364-day suspended sentence. She is still licensed to practice law in Washington state, according to the Washington Bar Association, but left her post at the prosecutor’s office in September.