Last week two important cases were resolved by jury decisions. In the first, a jury convicted Eric Harris of Second degree Murder and Unlawful Possession of a Firearm in the killing of his brother Larch last June 23. The trial took seven full days and the jury heard from about 26 witnesses in all. Superior Court Judge Patrick Monasmith presided over the trial. Deputy Prosecutor Matt Enzler and I represented the state, and Eric Christianson and Nicholas Smith of Spokane represented Eric Harris.

The jury heard from detectives from the Stevens County Sheriff’s Office, eyewitnesses who were at the scene, experts from the Washington State Crime Laboratory and a forensic audio specialist who had worked to clarify the 911 call recording which was made immediately after the shooting and captured some of what was actually going on. About 170 exhibits were introduced into evidence including many photographs and the murder weapon which was found hidden at the scene.

The evidence revealed that the killing was the result of an argument over a saddle that escalated into a fight and then into the shooting of Larch Harris at close range with a sawed off .410 shot gun. Several defense witnesses indicated they were under the influence of meth at the time of the shooting.
Sentencing is scheduled for February 18. Mr. Harris faces a maximum of about 26 years in the Department of Corrections as a result of the conviction.

The other jury trial resulted in the conviction of David Manlove for the offenses of Residential Burglary with aggravating circumstance, Unlawful Possession of a Firearm in the Second Degree, Malicious Mischief in the First Degree, Possession of More than 40 Grams of Marijuana, and Possession of Stolen property in the Third Degree. These charges were a result of his actions in the summer of 2013 when he broke into his neighbor’s home, caused in excess of $15,000 in damage to the victim’s home, and stole several items. When law enforcement executed a search warrant at his home they found 182 marijuana plants and a firearm which the defendant was prohibited from possessing due to the fact that he was committed to Eastern State Hospital in 2011. Sentencing in that case is set for January 28, 2014 at 1:00 PM. Deputy Prosecutor Lech Radzimski represented the state, Paul Wasson the defendant, and Judge Nielson presided over that trial, which overlapped the trial of Eric Harris and lasted two days.

The courthouse was very busy last week. Both the Superior Courtroom, the District Courtroom and the area which used to be the commissioners hearing room and has been remodeled into a third Courtroom were in service at the same time.