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Island County, Washington – Colton’s home county – filed amended court documents charging him with 14 felonies. Many of the charges stem from evidence found when Colt jumped out of a moving Mercedes and fled on foot, leaving behind a backpack filled with credit card scanners and other materials tied to burglaries on Camano Island.
This is the first time Island County has charged him with breaking into a sheriff deputy’s patrol car, though they’ve long believed Colton was responsible. The AR-15 assault rifle has never been found, but a camera and other items taken from the patrol car were found at a campsite tied to Colton by forensic evidence. Another new charge stems from the burglary of a county government building on Camano where a safe was stolen and then thrown into a pond.
Island County prosecutor Greg Banks said he’s filing these charges now because some of the earlier 2008 crimes are nearing their statute of limitations. As part of the plea-deal poker game, he also held out the possibility of adding more if the case goes to trial. For now, he’s cherry picking only the strongest cases.
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Awww sh*t. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteColton was 7 years old when Greg Banks first became Island County prosecutor. If Banks and others in Island County officialdom had ever taken a really constructive interest in helping this hungry young child who was growing up in such grinding poverty and neglect, it could have made a real difference in his life and in the Camano Island community.
ReplyDeleteBecause of their failures in this regard, they bear a large measure of responsibility for what has happened, and we think they have a lot to answer for because of their hypocrisy and shortsightedness.
We hope and believe your forthcoming book will help communities deal with young at-risk children in far more positive ways, and we also hope and pray for Colton, that he will have a chance to live a good constructive life.
Beth
Beth, that's what I meant to say. ;)
ReplyDelete