50-year-old man acquitted of murder in downtown Spokane stabbing

A 50-year-old man who stabbed 45-year-old Javier Chavez last fall in downtown Spokane was acquitted of murder last week after the defendant testified he was in “fear for his life” after Chavez attacked him.

A jury found Anthony L. Chastain not guilty of second-degree murder Friday after a two-week trial.

“I felt vindicated, because I believed Anthony Chastain the whole time, and I was relieved that the jurors came around to seeing it from his perspective, because it felt like no one in the system was listening to what the evidence really showed,” said Steve Graham, Chastain’s attorney.

Court documents and prosecutors indicated the stabbing appeared to be the result of an argument over a woman the two men dated. Graham said Chavez impersonated a third individual to lure Chastain with text messages to the former Hope House.

“We proved that Anthony Chastain was lured down to the scene by a promise there was some information about the woman’s missing daughter,” Graham said.

According to court documents, a witness told police he was with Chavez at about 11:10 a.m. Nov. 10 at the Old Hope House, 111 W. Third Ave., when Chastain arrived, according to court documents.

Chavez told the witness he and Chastain were texting back and forth before Chastain’s arrival. Chavez said his girlfriend was cheating on him with Chastain, according to the witness in documents.

The witness told police Chavez and Chastain started fighting, and Chastain stabbed him once.

Chastain’s sister reported her brother called her around the time of the 911 call, and she heard her brother yelling that he was “jumped,” according to documents.

Chastain admitted to the stabbing, and an officer noted a small mark with blood above Chastain’s eye. Chastain appeared to have a black eye while appearing in court two days after the stabbing.

Chastain told police he left his girlfriend at his home that morning after receiving a text from someone he knew as “211,” who had information about his girlfriend’s runaway daughter.

Chastain headed to his girlfriend’s residence at the former Hope House because he figured that was where “211” was. He said two men approached him “aggressively” in the parking lot. Chastain told police one of the men punched him and the other man was trying to break up the altercation.

He told police he broke free, pulled his knife out and stabbed the man who was coming at him.

Graham said Chastain didn’t know he was texting with Chavez until after he was attacked. Graham said video evidence, which was partially obscured, showed Chavez attacked Chastain as soon as he got out of his truck.

Chavez punched Chastain multiple times and pulled Chastain’s shirt over his face when Chastain drew his knife and stabbed Chavez in the chest, according to Graham.

Graham said prosecutors, who could not be reached for comment Tuesday, contended Chastain used excessive force because he was only being punched.

“My client still feels sick of what happened,” Graham said. “It wasn’t his intent to end a person’s life. He had to make a split-second decision and has to continue to live with that until this day.”

Chastain was released from the Spokane County Jail, where he was housed since the Nov. 10 stabbing.

Graham said Chastain will be awarded money to cover his attorney fees and lost wages from his seven months of incarceration.

Victor Garcia, Chavez’s nephew, said he was unable to attend the trial and that he wished Chastain was punished in some way so that his uncle’s killer didn’t “walk free.”

Garcia said his uncle would want him to forgive Chastain, and that he would probably give Chastain a hug if he saw him.

“He’s in God’s hands, and that’s out of my control,” Garcia said of Chastain.

He said he thinks about Chavez every day and that many things remind him of his uncle, like when he boxes and makes big life decisions.

Garcia said he told his mother he wants to name his future child “Javi,” after his uncle.

Garcia told The Spokesman-Review in March he fondly remembers riding electric scooters with his uncle and talking with him about his future.

Chavez was a caring man with a troubled past, but he encouraged his 17-year-old nephew to be a good kid, Garcia said.

“He was like another father figure,” Garcia said. “And so when he died, it was like a dad died.”

Garcia, who is heading into his senior year at Gonzaga Preparatory School, said he last spent time with his uncle about nine months before his death.

“Appreciate the ones you love most,” Garcia said Tuesday.