Bulletin Column

These reports are from the previous four issues of the Daily Bulletin in Colfax.

BAIL BOND SET AT $25,000

A $25,000 bond for pre-trial release was set for Walter J. Lander, 42, Colfax. He was arrested Saturday at his residence on probable charges of possession of stolen property and forgery. A Pullman Police report filed with the case alleges Lander is linked to an investigation of another Colfax resident, Cara Zimmerman, who was arrested on probable charges of possession of stolen property.

The Pullman Police investigation alleges residents there have reported checks have been stolen from the mail and altered. The report alleges attempts were made to deposit the altered checks in accounts at Colfax with subsequent attempts to make withdrawals from ATM machines.

Zimmerman, 26, was allowed release on her own recognizance March 1 and conditions of release were dropped after formal charges against her were not filed within 72 hours. Formal charges have not been filed against Lander.

DAILY GRIND ESPRESSOS SOLD

Charlene Jasper of Pullman has sold her Daily Grind Espresso business to Tammy and Dana Dykes of Moscow. The business includes the Daily Grind in Colfax and three drive-throughs in Pullman. Also included was the Daily Grind Coffee House on Main in downtown Pullman and the attached Licks Unlimited. Jasper has been operating the business for 18 years and nine months. Effective date of the sale was March 1.

Jasper said over the years she has had 2,021 employees and she estimates 98 percent of them were WSU students. On weekdays, the espresso stands operated from 6 a.m. until 7 p.m. and the coffee house from 6:30 a.m. until 11:30 p.m. The drive-through stands in Pullman are located on North Grand, South Grand and Bishop Boulevard. The first Daily Grind was located at the former Burgerville site on Davis Way.

The business also at one time included a drive-through at Kennewick which was previously sold.

Jasper said she doesn’t plan to retire.

ANDERSON BENEFIT NETS $12,400

The benefit dinner and auction at the Moscow Moose Lodge Friday for the family of Brandon Anderson netted approximately $12,400, according to Brian Mitzel, one of the organizers.

Organizers estimated they served 360 people for the dinner. The silent auction included 90 items with 20 put up for live bid.

Anderson, son of Rick and Debi Anderson of Colfax, died unexpectedly Jan. 31. He was raised in Colfax and LaCrosse and was a member of the 2000 class of LaCrosse High School.

Proceeds from the auction will help his wife, Jessica, and two small children. Family members attended the event and his brothers, Travis and Clint Anderson, assisted with the auction.

LAZCANO SENTENCING APRIL 12

Sentencing of Frank Lazcano was scheduled for April 12 in a hearing Friday in Whitman County Superior Court. Lazcano was found guilty of first degree murder March 1 by a superior court jury after a one-week trial. He was also found guilty of unlawful disposal of human remains and using a firearm in the commission of a felony.

Lazcano has been in jail here since he was arrested following the discovery of the murder victim, Marcus Schur, 23, Rosalia, in the creek below Bonnie Lake March 25, 2012. He faces a sentence of up to 30 years in jail, according to Prosecutor Denis Tracy.

The court Friday also delayed setting a date for a second trial of Daniel Lazcano on charges of first degree murder and first degree kidnapping. The delay was allowed after the court appointed attorney Mark Monson to represent Daniel Lazcano. Monson was appointed after Eric Christianson of Spokane, who represented Daniel Lazcano in the first trial, informed the court he could no longer represent Daniel because the family is unable to pay for an attorney.

The new trial date has been scheduled to be set this Friday. Daniel Lazcano still faces the two charges after the jury for his trial reported they were unable to reach a verdict.

Family members and friends had gathered at the courthouse for the scheduled hearings, and after the court sessions Christianson presided at the wedding of Frank Lazcano and Jaime Whitney. A son was born to the couple since Frank Lazcano has been in jail. Christianson said he is also a part-time pastor.

MEY SENTENCED FOR BREAK-INS

Vance E. Mey, 19, Winona, was sentenced to three months in jail Friday morning after he pleaded guilty to two charges of burglary in Colfax. Mey was charged with the Nov. 7 break-ins of the Thrifty Grandmothers Shop and the Daily Grind.

Deputy Prosecutor Dan LeBeau told the court Mey had agreed to admit the two burglary charges under a plea bargain which called for the state to drop a third charge of residential burglary.

Mey’s plea and sentencing followed a hearing for a 17-year-old accomplice who appeared March 7, in juvenile court. Colfax police at the time reported the back door of the Daily Grind had been pried open and the cash register removed. It was later found in the ditch alongside the flood control channel behind the building. The cash register had been apparently slammed against the ground and the cash drawer removed.

The front door of the Thrifty Grandmothers Shop had also been pried open and a cash drawer removed from the building. The police report said $182 had been taken from the Grandmothers Shop and $248 from the Daily Grind.

LeBeau said Friday restitution due in the case totaled approximately $972. He reported that the juvenile accomplice had already paid full restitution for the Colfax break-ins.

Mey was credited for time spent in jail. He was ordered to pay $1,550 in fines and fees. The judge said he will be allowed to pay off the sum with public service. He also told Mey that he was responsible for half of the restitution sum paid by the juvenile accomplice.

The dismissed residential burglary charge involved in the case alleged the duo had entered the back of the apartment next to the Colfax Pawn Shop. The report said at the time they believed they were entering the pawn shop.

Defense Attorney Steve Martonick told the court Mey has resumed taking medication which he had quit taking at the time of the Nov. 7 burglaries.

JUVENILE SENTENCED

The 17-year-old teen who was an accomplice with Vince Mey was ordered to serve 11 days in jail with credit for four days already served March 7 in juvenile court. He was convicted of burglarizing the Thrifty Grandmother’s shop and giving officers false information. He was also ordered to serve 80 hours of community service and pay restitution of $172 to the Thrifty Grandmothers and $755 to the owner of the building.

Two other charges against the juvenile were dismissed. He was ordered to have no contact with Mey who was sentenced in superior court Friday.

PRAYER CIRCLE AT COURTHOUSE

A prayer circle in support of Sen. Rand Paul’s filibuster was conducted last Wednesday night, March 6, in front of the Whitman County courthouse. Sen. Paul ended his filibuster 13 hours after he began. A Republican from Kentucky, he stalled a Senate vote to appoint John Brennan to the CIA.

Paul conceded he was unable to block confirmation of Brennan, but he undertook the filibuster as a critic of President Obama’s policy on the use of drones. He began by calling on President Obama or Attorney General Eric Holder to issue a statement that drones will not be used on suspected terrorists in the United States.

Dee Bryson of Colfax said the prayer group included 12 people who gathered in rain and sleet for approximately 20 minutes. She said members of the group have a strong interest in Constitutional protections. She said the session included prayer for the senator and for President Obama that they follow a policy in line with requirements of the Constitution.

The group assembled about an hour before Sen. Paul finished his filibuster.

STEPTOE SUSPECT RETURNS

Mark A. Short, 42, Otis Orchards, was booked back into the county jail March 6 after being arrested on a bench warrant from Whitman County Superior Court. The warrant was issued for Short’s alleged failure to comply with a court order to pay $1,522 as part of a conviction for assault and attempted unlawful imprisonment in a domestic violence episode last June at Steptoe.

Short was arrested after his wife reported she fled from a campsite near the grain elevators at Steptoe. She told officers she fled the scene by going across fields and Highway 195 to the RV Park at Steptoe.

Short responded to a payment due notice from the court that he was presently serving time in the Spokane County jail and requested more time to make payment.