Three men sentenced in Spokane murder over food stamp card

Mon., March 21, 2016

By Rachel Alexander rachela@spokesman.com (509) 459-5406

Three men were sentenced Monday after pleading guilty in a brutal killing, described by the medical examiner as torture, in a lower South Hill home last year.

Isaiah S. Freeman, 26, Christopher J. Hall, 35, and Ricky A. Cox, 30, all admitted to their involvement in beating Damien Stewart, 33, after they went to his home in January 2015 with one other man to retrieve Hall’s food stamp card.

Freeman pleaded guilty to first-degree murder. Judge John Cooney sentenced him to 20 years in prison on the joint recommendation of prosecutors and defense attorneys.

Cox and Hall pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and had agreed to testify against Freeman.

Cooney followed the sentencing recommendation of 10 years in prison for Cox but sentenced Hall to a total of 13 years in prison, saying he was more culpable because he brought the other men with him to Stewart’s home to intimidate the victim.

The men were ordered to pay their share of about $6,000 in restitution.

The victim’s mother, brother, sister and other relatives described Stewart as a kind man who struggled with drug addiction and mental illness. He enjoyed showing off his hip-hop country dance moves to Taylor Swift songs and regularly sheltered homeless people, his sister said.

“He probably provided them shelter and food and he died for it,” said Stewart’s sister, Shontee Williams. Cox and Hall were living at the House of Charity when the murder took place, court documents say.

According to court documents, Freeman talked about killing Stewart on the way over and was involved in most of the violence against Stewart, including hitting him with a frying pan and speaker box and attempting to slit his throat with a butcher knife. The Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office said Stewart was strangled. Hall told investigators all four men beat and kicked Stewart during the assault.

“No human being should have to endure that kind of death,” said Stewart’s brother, Quincy Williams.

At the sentencing, Freeman declined to say anything, and Cox said only that he was sorry to the family. Hall delivered a longer speech, saying he used to hang out with Stewart and only wanted to get his food stamp card back.

“Things went horribly wrong,” he said. “Sometimes you wish you could just take it back, but you can’t.”

A fourth suspect, Richard J. Richardson, 50, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in November. He has not yet been sentenced.

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