Spokane Criminal Defense Law Blog

After being indicted on federal drug charges for alleged drug trafficking, a 38-year-old male from Washington pleaded not guilty. The man works as a truck driver, and the drug charges stem from an incident in which he was stopped for a commercial vehicle inspection in April. The Nevada Highway Patrol claims that the man hid controlled substances in his truck.

According to police, an officer stopped the trucker on the White Pine County stretch of U.S. Highway 6 and the man agreed to a vehicle search. In addition to a cargo of watermelons, the officer allegedly found a duffle bag in the driver's sleeping compartment. Inside the bag was a large quantity of drugs wrapped in plastic. The driver now stands charged of possessing six pounds of heroin and 26 pounds of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute.

Washington residents who follow celebrity news may have heard that TV-star and rap artist Flavor Flav is facing felony charges. The 54-year-old entertainer was involved in a domestic violence dispute, which lead to an escalated argument with his girlfriend's son. The incident occurred in October 2012 and involved Flav, whose legal name is William Jonathan Drayton Jr., stabbing a knife through the bedroom door not more than two feet away from the teen. The rapper threatened to kill the boy and used the profanities to scare him.

The dispute started around 3 a.m. with the teen's mother and quickly accelerated into a heated discussion. The boy was awakened by the raised voices and reacted by pinning the rapper to the kitchen floor in a headlock. As the situation progressed, they kept pushing each other, eventually leading to physical fight.

A 25-year-old thought to be a car thief was allegedly shot and killed by the vehicle's 56-year-old owner. A search warrant identified the SUV owner on March 25. However, he has not been taken into custody. Spokane detectives seized the SUV's headrest after determining a bullet pierced it. Although they found a gun on the man, they did not specify if it was the gun that shot the alleged thief.

The authorities are investigating criminal charges of second degree murder. The vehicle owner allegedly waited until the younger man drove off with his car before shooting. The authorities are speculating on a possible justification for the shooting.

Washington's Senate recently took on a problem that many of the state's citizens have likely never heard of: flashmob robberies, also known as "flash robs." On March 12, the Senate voted 49-0 to create new criminal charges related to this increasingly "popular" method of organized retail theft. The bill must now be cleared through the House.

Flash robs occur when large groups of people suddenly converge on a store and steal whatever they feel like before quickly leaving. These retail thefts are basically unstoppable due to the overwhelming multitude of offenders. Though Washington hasn't had issues with these types of crimes, lawmakers hoped to "nip it in the bud" after an Oregon television station broadcast a video of one of these robberies occurring in Portland.