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A 30-year-old Kennewick man is in jail on $200,000 bail on charges he sexually assaulted a grade-school girl numerous times over 21/2 years.
Patrick Gale Wilson pleaded innocent Thursday in Benton County Superior Court to first-degree rape of a child.
His trial is set for Dec. 14.
According to court documents, the girl told an elementary school counselor about the sexual abuse.
The victim was able to describe the acts and the items used during the rapes "in great detail," wrote Deputy Prosecutor Anita Petra.
The case was investigated by the Benton County Sheriff's Office. The crimes allegedly happened between January 2007 and September 2009.
Defense attorney Sal Mendoza Jr. was appointed to the case Thursday. He told the court he would wait to address the high bail until he's had a chance to talk with his client.
Alleged car vandal released until trial
A teen was granted release to live with family in Everett while awaiting trial for allegedly vandalizing nearly three dozen cars in Kennewick.
Daniel Steven Calton, 18, pleaded innocent to first-degree malicious mischief and second-degree vehicle prowl. His trial is scheduled to start Jan. 11.
Meanwhile, court records show co-defendant Timothy James Steffenson pleaded guilty Wednesday in Juvenile Court to second-degree malicious mischief and possession of marijuana under 40 grams.
Steffenson, 17, of Kennewick was ordered to serve 20 days in detention, with credit for having served 8 days. He also must complete 50 hours of community service work and 12 months of community supervision.
A restitution hearing to determine what Steffenson owes the victims is scheduled for Dec. 9.
Kennewick police were called at 1:30 a.m. Oct. 28 by a woman who watched two people break into her car that was parked near her West Fourth Avenue home, court documents said. Officers reportedly found Calton and Steffenson in the neighborhood.
Steffenson was frisked for weapons and found to be carrying two knives and several emblems from different vehicles. He admitted to breaking into three vehicles that night and slashing tires on multiple others, documents said.
Calton allegedly told officers he broke into at least one car and slashed several other tires. "He stated that he used a knife to slash the tires but disposed of it before he was contacted by police officers," according to court documents.
Officers reported finding a car emblem in Calton's pocket.
Damage reported to a total 33 vehicles included slashed tires, broken windows, scratched paint and removed emblems. Gas caps also were missing from some cars, documents said.
One victim claimed a stereo, CDs and a jack were missing from her car in addition to having her four tires slashed and a window broken.
Total damage to all the cars is estimated by police in excess of $20,000.
Convicted Pasco thief sentenced to 9 months
A 28-year-old man will do nine months in jail on three separate cases.
Lloyd Alan King of Pasco was told he can do the time on jail work crew. A Dec. 3 hearing is set to review his jail status.
King pleaded guilty to first-degree theft, theft of a motor vehicle, forgery, one count of felony bail jumping and two counts of misdemeanor bail jumping.
In the first case, King rented a trailer Nov. 22, 2008, from Sun Rental Center and signed an agreement paying for one day. The agreement said the trailer shouldn't be taken outside of a 50-mile radius from the Kennewick business, but King didn't return it and the trailer could not be located.
When charges were filed in February, rental costs for the missing trailer had accumulated to more than $1,500, court documents said. King then had two warrants for his arrest out of Yakima County.
Then in December 2008, King was at Columbia Center mall with Todd Herman when he asked to borrow Herman's 1992 Ford Explorer. King said he needed to pick up a friend and would be right back with the Ford but never returned, documents said.
And on April 9, King tried to cash a bad check at Ace Cash Express. The check for $1,015.91 from Custom Woodcraft Inc. had a wrong routing number and was confirmed by the check's maker to be fake, court documents said.
The check was made out to King, who initially claimed it was his paycheck. He later admitted he knew the check was forged but tried to cash it because he was broke, documents said.
The three felony cases were pending when King failed to make a court appearance. A bench warrant was issued and he was charged with bail jumping in each case, court documents said.
King must repay $1,250 to Sun Rental and $909 to Herman, of Kennewick.
Forgery suspect pleads innocent in bad bill case
A Burbank woman pleaded innocent to allegations she tried to buy two packs of cigarettes with a $5 bill doctored to look like a $50.
Tammy Mora, 41, faces trial Jan. 11 on one count of forgery.
Prosecutors allege Mora walked into The Cigarette Store on Ely Street in Kennewick on Sept. 18 and handed over a $50 bill as payment.
The clerk became suspicious after noticing the internal strip read five dollars and the watermark showed President Lincoln's portrait instead of President Grant's. The clerk told Mora the bill was counterfeit and to wait until police arrived, but Mora claimed she couldn't wait because she had warrants out for her arrest, court documents said.
Mora then paid with a valid bill and left the store.
The clerk wrote down her license plate number, which police reportedly traced to Mora. She also was picked out of a photo montage by the clerk as the forgery suspect, documents said.
Mora was featured in a Tri-Cities Crime Stoppers wanted bulletin last month, and turned herself in to police the day it was published in the Tri-City Herald.
Guilty plea entered in Mabton gun incident
A Mabton teen admitted to flashing a stolen gun when his brother was fighting with another man at a Prosser party.
Esequiel Xavier Torres, 18, pleaded guilty to second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, possession of a stolen firearm and unlawful display of a weapon. He was sentenced to six months in jail.
Torres, his brother and his brother's girlfriend were at a party on Highland Drive on July 26 when the fight started. A neighbor called Prosser police after hearing a gunshot and officers arrived just as many people were leaving the area.
During the fight between Jesus Torres and Justin M. Cavazos, Esequiel Torres "came outside, pointed a handgun at 'Hurricane' (Cavazos) and fired," court documents said. The brothers then drove off with the woman but were later stopped by Sunnyside officers.
Torres was a passenger and located near him was a .357 Magnum-caliber handgun that had been reported stolen from a White Swan man earlier this year, documents said.
A charge of second-degree assault with a firearm allegation was reduced to unlawful display of a weapon after Cavazos told a defense investigator "that he does not consider himself a victim," Deputy Prosecutor Terry Bloor wrote in court documents.
Cavazos also told the investigator he was "extremely intoxicated" at the time and never heard a gunshot or saw anyone point a gun, Bloor said.
The reduction results in Torres still pleading guilty to two felony offenses and should hold him accountable, Bloor said.
-- Kristin M. Kraemer: 582-1531; kkraemer@tricityherald.com
