Bulletin Column Jan. 14

Frosted with fluffly flakes of fresh fallen snow, these rose hips, known for storing high amounts of vitamin C, sit dormant, waiting to impart their nutrition to any creature in need of a wintertime snack.

These reports are from the previous four issues of the Daily Bulletin in Colfax. They are reprinted here for the benefit of Gazette readers who reside outside of Colfax. Some accounts have been updated.

ALLEGED Palouse ASSAULT

Two charges of second degree assault with a vehicle were filed Monday in superior court against Gary Wilson, 42, Palouse.

He was also charged with aiming a firearm at a person and unlawful display of a firearm.

According to the Palouse Police Department report, two people reported Wilson attempted to hit them while driving a truck in the 400 block of E. Whitman in Palouse at about 11:30 p.m.

Saturday.

The alleged victims said they were standing on the shoulder of the road and had to jump out of the way after Wilson put the truck in reverse.

The report said tracks left by the alleged victims in the snow and mud appeared to validate their account.

Wilson was also charged for threatening one of the victims with a revolver.

The report said Wilson was arrested later by deputies in Latah County.

Prosecutor Denis Tracy was granted a warrant for Wilson’s arrest with the bond amount for release set at $50,000.

SEATTLE

DRIVER

HITS SIGN

Ahmed W. Abdinoor, Seattle, was unhurt in a one-car accident Saturday on Highway 26 at the Airport Road intersection. According to the Washington State Patrol report, he was driving a 1993 Toyota Corolla eastbound on Highway 26 at 6:20 p.m. and attempted to make a right turn onto Airport Road. The Toyota went through the intersection and struck a stop sign.

A Colfax ambulance crew was dispatched but returned to the station after learning Abdinoor was not hurt.

WSU

SEEKS SUIT

DISMISSAL

A Jan. 22 hearing has been scheduled on a motion by attorneys for WSU to dismiss the suit filed by BN Builders against the university in a dispute involving two construction contracts at the university. They have also filed a countersuit against the contractor and a motion to consolidate their suit with a suit filed by McKinstry Co., said to be a mechanical subcontractor for BN Builders.

BN Builders (BNB) Dec. 8 filed their suit seeking $11.8 million in alleged damages they sustained as contractor for two projects, the North Side Residence Phase II project and the Chief Joseph remodeling project. Their suit contends the sums are due for changes required as the jobs progressed.

In their motion to dismiss the BNB suit filed Dec. 23, attorneys from the Seattle law firm of Perkins Coie said the BNB filing should be dismissed because BNB had entered into a “standstill and tolling” agreement last June 17, and the Dec. 8 filing violated terms of that agreement.

The Seattle firm Dec. 24 also filed a WSU suit against BNB seeking damages for alleged breach of contract on the two projects. Amount of damages listed on the WSU suit were listed as “to be determined at the time of trial.”

The motion to consolidate had been on the docket for Friday but was continued to Jan. 22.

SNOW ON

SIDEWALKS CITATIONS

Colfax Police Chief Rick McNannay said the department has received complaints about snow being left on sidewalks. City ordinances require residents to clear sidewalks in front of their buildings. The city plans to issue warning tickets in response to complaints, and if the sidewalks remain a hazard, a citation will be issued, McNannay said.

TALLY ON

JUVENILE SPREE

The amount of restitution due for damages sustained by victims of the two Malden juveniles who left Malden and traveled to Idaho, Oregon and back to Malden before they were arrested in the Newport area Sept. 2 was reported to be $7,621, according to a report filed in juvenile court. The restitution hearing had been slated for Jan. 7. The court split the total restitution with each juvenile, Christopher Thornton and Ashley Varner, ordered to pay $3,810.

The duo reportedly departed Malden Aug. 21 in a stolen car, traveled to Spokane, then to Silverwood at Kellogg, Idaho, and then down to Oregon.

Arrest reports alleged four vehicles were taken during the trip.

One of them, a Honda Accord, was wrecked in the Longview area.

They returned to Malden and then led a trooper on a high speed chase on the Old Highway 195 Road between Rosalia and Plaza in a 1997 Ford F-250 pickup truck which had been stolen in the Longview area.

They were apprehended Sept. 2 after another chase in Pend Oreille County south of Newport. The account of the arrest said officers at the scene were shocked to find out the driver of the stolen pickup truck, Thornton, was 15 years old and the passenger, Varner, was 13.

Varner was sentenced to 90 days in juvenile custody Oct. 15 after admitting charges of theft of a vehicle, residential burglary and being an accessory for attempting to elude an officer. Thornton was sentenced Nov. 19 to 10 months on two charges of motor vehicle theft, residential burglary and attempting to elude.

POLICE GET HIT & RUN REPORT

Colfax Chief Rick McNannay said the police department is seeking information on the vehicle involved in a hit-and-run accident early Jan. 6 morning in the lane between the Whitman Hospital and Whitman Health and Rehab. The lane provides access to the back of the properties off of Fairview.

The driver of a 2008 GMC Acadia SUV said it was struck in the side by an older sedan at about 6:30 a.m. She said the driver of the sedan was going in the opposite direction and sideswiped the SUV. The sedan was believed to be light blue or silver. McNannay said they have a report from one witness who saw the sideswipe accident.

TRIAL ON MANSLAUGHTER CHARGE

A jury trial for Charles Becker, Pullman resident who faces a charge of second-degree manslaughter, has now been scheduled for Jan. 19 in superior court. Becker appeared in court Friday for a pre-trial readiness hearing on the charge. Another hearing is scheduled for this Friday afternoon to determine which statements made by Becker to investigating officers will be admissible at trial.

Approximately 50 residents will be called for jury selection. Becker, 26, was charged after WSU Police and Pullman EMTs responded April 4 to an apartment on NE Valley Road, where an infant boy was reported to be unconscious. The infant was taken to Pullman Regional Hospital and determined to be deceased. Becker pleaded not guilty to the charge Sept. 18.

ADMITS CHILD MOLESTATION CHARGES

Jerry Fay Walker, 74, Endicott area farmer, pleaded guilty Friday morning in superior court to three charges of child molestation after a plea agreement was accepted by the court. Under terms of the agreement the state will drop two other charges against Walker.

The defendant was ordered taken into custody after entering guilty pleas to two charges of child molestation in the second degree and one charge of child molestation in the third degree.

Prior to the arraignment, the father of the victim in the case objected to the plea agreement proposal, which was presented to the court by Chief Deputy Prosecutor Bill Druffel.

The father of the victim told the court charges against Walker evolved from multiple violations over time and not an isolated incident.

Judge David Frazier ruled to accept the plea bargain. He pointed out the law places a large degree of discretion on the prosecutor’s office when determining what charges to pursue, but the subsequent sentencing procedure places “a great deal of power in the hands of the victim.”

The judge also pointed out the defendant gives up his right to a trial and his right to appeal when entering a plea of guilty. After Walker entered his plea, Druffel reported to the court the sheriff’s office was informed of the offenses in July of last year and conducted an extensive investigation of the case. The molestations took place over a three-year period between 2009 and 2012 and usually took place when the victim was visiting the Walker farm, Druffel said.

Druffel added Walker admitted the charges when he was confronted with the allegations during the investigation. Sentencing for Walker has been scheduled for Feb. 19. Before setting the date, the judge confirmed that the victim’s family could be present on that date to make their objections.

Walker, who has been assigned an offender score of six, faces a sentencing range of between 57 and 75 months in prison. Defense Attorney Will Ferguson earlier informed the court that Walker planned to apply for a sex offender sentencing alternative. If that sentencing option is accepted by the court, Walker could be sentenced to up to a year in jail and then undergo treatment as a sexual offender.

The court also ordered the state Department of Corrections to conduct a pre-sentence investigation to present to the court. Ferguson at the end of the hearing said an evaluation of Walker has already been conducted for the defense motion on the sexual offender sentencing alternative.

LUDEN

TESTED

JAIL STAFF

Keeping Erik Luden in custody and alive during the months before his trial in December proved to a be a test for the Whitman County jail staff and for deputies who were often called off normal duty stints to assist with Luden in the jail. Undersheriff Ron Rockness Friday reported much of Luden’s erratic behavior took place in the weeks after his arrest in Pullman May 30 and charged with the second degree murder of his father.

Luden was convicted by a superior court jury Dec. 16 and sentenced to 244 months in prison, the maximum term he could receive, by Judge David Frazier Dec. 18. Rockness said Luden was taken to the state penitentiary in Walla Walla within a week after his conviction.

Rockness said the sheriff’s staff was uncertain how Luden would behave when his trial started Dec. 14 before the jury. The prisoner by that time had compiled a long record of jail infractions. Luden, during the trial, appeared before the jury in civilian clothes and wore a tie. His conduct was normal during the trial, but after he was removed from the courtroom he continued to act up in the jail, Rockness said.

For much of the time he was incarcerated here, Luden had to be kept in isolation because of continued attempts to take his own life. He was often strapped to a chair or to a bed. During times when Luden was released from the straps, he continued to resist and often assaulted jailers or deputies who were called in to help control him.

Luden at times refused to eat and his court record includes an order authorizing insertion of an IV feeding tube to sustain him. Rockness reported Luden several times during his stay in jail was transported to the hospital for treatment.

The jail staff normally includes two people on duty, but extra staffing and the assistance of deputies was needed to sustain Luden. The prisoner’s warrant of commitment to the state Department of Corrections credited him with 202 days of incarceration served at the jail here.