Defense attorney appointed to Idaho death penalty case

SANDPOINT – An attorney qualified to handle death penalty cases has been appointed to represent the Washington state man accused of stabbing to death a cab driver in northern Idaho.

The Bonner County Daily Bee reported a judge appointed Twin Falls attorney R. Keith Roark to represent 20-year-old Jacob Corban Coleman, who has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder.

According to court documents, Chief Public Defender Janet Whitney moved for the appointment, saying the attorneys in her office were not qualified to provide defense counsel in capital offense cases.

Authorities say Coleman killed 22-year-old Gagandeep Singh in Kootenai in August. Singh had picked him up at the Spokane International Airport and drove him to Idaho.

Bonner County prosecutors have filed notice of intent to seek the death penalty.