Briefs: August 17, 2017

OSBORNE TRUSTEE TO VISIT

Bob Freedman of New York, a trustee of the Robert Osborne estate, is expected to meet with Colfax representatives this week to determine a course of action on what might be done in Colfax with items from the estate of the long-time host of Turner Classic Movies.

Whitman County Library Director Kristie Kirkpatrick said at this point they do not know what items from the estate, if any, could eventually land in Colfax. Freedman has been working with Mr. Osborne’s two nieces who reside in the Spokane area.

Osborne spent his high school years in Colfax and worked at the Rose Theatre which was the site of the former Peak Fitness Center on Main Street. He died March 6 in New York City.

Colfax Mayor Todd Vanek at the Aug. 7 council session said the city will step back from any project and leave it up to the library, the Downtown Association and possibly other non-profits to determine a course of action.

Kirkpatrick said one thing she has learned from Freedman is that the Osborne collection does not include any movie playbill posters.

LAZCANO MOTION DENIED

The bulk of a motion filed by Daniel Lazcano, one of the brothers convicted for the Dec. 27, 2011, murder of Marcus Schur at Malden, was denied Friday in superior court. Filing from the state penitentiary at Walla Walla, Lazcano had petitioned the court to dismiss an order that he pay $5,474 restitution plus costs and fees when he was sentenced on convictions of first degree murder and unlawful disposal of human remains. He was sentenced in January of 2014 after being convicted by a jury.

Prosecutor Denis Tracy told the court the restitution order calls for Lazcano to pay for the costs of burial of his victim. Tracy said the restitution order is allowed under state law.

The prosecutor pointed out Lazcano should be able to obtain some type of inmate employment while he is serving his sentence in the state penitentiary at Walla Walla. Tracy said even if Lazcano gets paid at an inmate rate of five cents or 25 cents an hour, the sum should go for paying costs of his victim’s burial.

Lazcano, now 26, was sentenced to 324 months in prison for fatally shooting Schur in an alley in Malden. Lazcano was found guilty of shooting Schur with a rifle after Schur fled a residence on Bluebird Street where he was reportedly attending a dinner gathering.

Mr. Schur, who had been reported as a missing person after he was last seen at the Malden residence, was found when his bound body was discovered in Bonnie Lake by a fisherman March 25, 2012.

Tracy said he estimates Lazcano still has about 25 years to serve out his sentence.

Judge Gary Libey denied Lazcano’s petition related to the $5,474 burial costs for Schur, but he did dismiss the $800 fines and fees which were included in the sentence. He noted chances of Lazcano ever paying the sum were remote.

ST. JOHN MAN SENTENCED TO 15 MONTHS

Benjamin Isaacs, 31, St. John resident who was jailed July 14 after he was arrested on child pornography charges, was sentenced to 15 months in prison Thursday, Aug. 10, in Whitman County Superior Court.

Charges against Isaacs were filed July 6, and he pleaded guilty to the charges July 14. He was remanded to the jail at that time and has been held without bail since. A pre-sentence investigation by the state was ordered after he entered his plea.

An 11-page investigation report filed when Isaacs was charged said the investigation began last November when Moscow detective Eric Kjorness discovered a participant in an internet child pornography sharing site was using a computer from St. John. Kjorness relayed the report to Pullman police who relayed it to the sheriff’s office. An internet protocol number on the computer was traced to Isaacs and a search was conducted of the residence Nov. 18. Ten items were seized during the search.

When Isaacs entered his plea four weeks ago, his attorney, Mark Mosman, said negotiations on the case had been underway since December.

Isaacs was also ordered to pay a $1,000 fine plus costs and fees totaling $800. He was ordered to make payments of $50 a month after his release from prison.

He was also placed on three years of community custody after his release.

THICKER LANE LINE GOES DOWN

A state painting crew Thursday put down a new and wider marking line along the curve of 195 where it enters Main Street on the south end of town. The line begins at the start of the curve and continues around the bend past the Thorn Street intersection.

The line and the “candle” markers on the curve have been installed to set up an entry lane for drivers who descend the hill on Thorn and turn right onto Main Street to go north.

Traffic over the winter erased the previous lane line. The line was painted wider to meet state specifications for marking off a lane.

Chief Rick McNannay told the city council Aug. 7 state specifications require a wider line in order to cite motorists on Main who cross the solid lane line.

The wider lane marking extends north to just before the site of the former railroad crossing. It includes one short break to indicate a turn slot for drivers who want to turn off Main onto Thorn Street.

TRIAL DATE SET FOR COX

A Sept. 11 jury trial has been scheduled for Dennis Cox, 59, after he pleaded not guilty to six charges Wednesday, Aug. 9, in superior court. Cox has been charged with third-degree rape, three counts of child molestation, communication with a minor for immoral purposes and indecent exposure.

Cox had been held in jail since his arrest. The bond for his bail had been set at $150,000.

Court records show that since his arrest his defense attorney petitioned the court to allow Cox to be released on his own recognizance. The petition noted Cox was suffering from claustrophobia in the jail. Among points made in the petition, Defense Attorney Steve Martonick pointed out Cox had no criminal record, had a good reputation in Pullman and that his wife vowed to report him in the event she became aware of any violations of a no-contact order with the victim.

The bail bond was reduced, and a $5,000 cash bond was posted for his pre-trial release.

Friday, Martonick requested a revision of part of the pre-trial release order which prohibited Cox from having any contact with females under age 18. He said Cox needs to get back to his business, the Pullman Baskin-Robbins, and that could be expected to bring him into contact with juvenile female customers. Judge Gary Libey amended the order to ban all contact with girls under age 18 except for when they are being served over the counter at the restaurant.

GRAIN FIRE ON PENAWAWA ROAD

A fire on the Jon Link ranch along the Penawawa Road Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 8, burned stubble and standing spring wheat. The fire was on the west side of the Penawawa road about two miles south of Highway 26.

The fire was believed to have started off equipment which had been in use by a haying contractor and spread to the stubble and grain field. Approximately 300 acres were involved. It was in the Dusty/Wilcox/Onecho fire district, and crews from District 11 (Colfax, Albion, Steptoe) also responded to the scene.

A pile of debris where a former house had been demolished was also burned in the blaze.

Initial reports at 3:44 p.m. Aug. 8 put the size of the fire at an acre, but it had covered more ground as volunteers arrived on the scene.

ARSONIST

SENTENCED TO SIX MONTHS

Diane Galler, 51, the former Tekoa resident who pleaded guilty to a charge of second-degree arson June 16 in superior court, was sentenced Aug. 9 to six months in jail. Galler was charged after deputies learned she had paid two men to set fire to her house on Truax Street last Sept. 18.

On the day she entered her plea, Galler paid $141,000 to the court for restitution to State Farm Insurance, which had paid on an insurance claim for the loss of the house.

According to the investigation report, investigation into the arson case began in January when deputies received a tip relayed from Spokane officers that the Sept. 18 fire in Tekoa had been caused by arson.

Galler reportedly paid brothers Darien and Raymond Rhoades to torch the house at the end of a work session in Tekoa when they were working to prepare the house for rental. She had moved from Tekoa to Spokane.

Galler, who has no criminal record, faced a sentencing range of between three and nine months on the arson conviction.

In a 19-page memorandum filed with the court, Spokane attorney David Partovi asked the court to sentence Galler to the minimum three months. He contended she had been manipulated into torching the house by Darien Rhoades, who had resided at Galler’s residence at various times starting in his high school years. Darien Rhoades was described as a “manipulative criminal” in the memorandum.

Among letters of support for Galler was a short message from the former president of Bank of Fairfield where Galler worked for 25 years.

Prosecutor Denis Tracy asked the court to assign the maximum nine months. He urged the court to “follow the money” in the case which showed Galler had collected a $161,898 insurance claim from State Farm.

Tracy in his brief said evidence is unclear about who first brought up the idea of burning down the house, but he pointed out Galler went along with the plan for financial gain. Investigators in the case contended Galler paid each of the Rhoades brothers $1,000. Galler Aug. 9 was ordered to make $100 monthly restitution payments. She was allowed work release while serving the sentence and will be placed on probation for one year after she completes her sentence.

Darien and Raymond Rhoades were sentenced May 19. Darien pleaded guilty to second degree arson and was sentenced to four months in jail. Raymond pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of reckless burning and was sentenced to 60 days in jail. Both were allowed work release.

Darien Rhoades faced a longer sentence because he was reported to be the one who went into the house and poured gasoline before igniting the fire. An account at his sentencing said he was lucky to get out of the house when the gasoline ignited with a blast. The three defendants have been ordered to pay back the remaining $20,878 to State Farm “jointly and severally.”

Galler was booked into the jail at 6:46 p.m. Aug. 9. Her release date, with credit for good time while in jail, would be Dec. 7.