Last of four killers sentenced to 22 years for premeditated murder in Spokane

The last of four men involved in a 2015 burglary-turned-murder has been sentenced for the crime.

Richard J. Richadson, 54, was given 22 years prison and ordered to pay $6,009 in restitution after being found guilty of burglary and the premeditated murder of 33-year-old Damien Stewart in January 2015.

Ricky Cox, now 25, and Christopher Hall, now 40, were convicted of murder with intent to kill in 2016. That same year, Isaiah Freeman, now 30, was also convicted of premeditated murder and burglary.

Richardson’s delay in sentencing followed years of mental health treatment, in which he was incompetent to stand trial.

In 2015, Richardson told police that he heard the three other suspects talking about getting Hall’s food stamp card from Stewart’s apartment and committing a “drug rip,” by taking drugs Stewart allegedly owed Hall.

Hall told police he and Cox brought the other two men along as an “intimidation factor” against the victim, according to court documents.

All four took part in beating, punching and kicking Stewart, according to court documents.

The men blamed Freeman for the most violent portions of the attack, including attempting to slit the victim’s throat with a butcher knife and beating him with a speaker box and frying pan, documents say.