Gallegos felony charges dropped

Two felony charges against Eli Gallegos, 59, Colfax, have been dismissed in superior court. Gallegos had been scheduled for two trials Monday on unrelated charges, residential burglary and trafficking in stolen property.

Court records show the charges were dismissed July 24 on a motion from the state. Deputy Prosecutor Merritt Decker asked the court to drop the charges because the state has been unable to locate a material witness.

The court approved payment of legal fees for 6.7 hours of legal work which Defense Attorney Roger Sandberg of Pullman logged to assist Gallegos on both cases.

Gallegos had wound up being scheduled for the same trial date on both cases because some of the court dates in the normal trial process had to be set back after Gallegos failed to appear on the original dates.

Gallegos had faced a charge of residential burglary which allegedly took place Feb. 4 when he was observed in a garage on Lake Street in Colfax. He was charged April 25 with trafficking in stolen property when deputies located a motorcycle at a shop along Highway 195 south of Colfax during a warrant search for drugs.

Residents at the shop alleged the motorcycle belonged to Gallegos, who said he was attempting to sell it. Gallegos contended two motorcycles had been found in the back of a pickup truck which he had sold and then had to repossess. The motorcycle had allegedly been stolen in Idaho.

Nikolas Erickson, 26, one of the people residing at the shop, was charged June 15 with two drug charges, possession of a stolen vehicle and criminal mistreatment of two small children who were allegedly living in the shop.

An warrant with bail set at $10,000 was issued for Erickson's arrest after he failed to show up July 14 in court for a first appearance on the charges.

The two children were taken into state custody when deputies went to the shop.