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Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Court finds no basis for new trial; sentencing pushed to Feb. 22
DAVENPORT—Brandy J. Hood, a Reardan woman who was found guilty by a jury on four counts of fourth-degree assault, two counts of second-degree assault and one count of harassment with the threat to kill Jan. 18, won’t be receiving a new trial.
Presiding judge John F. Strohmaier denied a motion for mistrial after Hood accused Reardan police chief Andy Manke of influencing the jury and having personal relationships with jurors that may have influenced the guilty verdict. The judge’s decision was handed down at a Feb. 15 court appearance.
Documents in the defense’s motion for a new trial claimed that three jurors knew Manke and said the chief was observed “exchanging positive head shakes” with jury foreman Garrison Schmierer. Accusations also included assertions that Manke was seen grabbing chairs and speaking to potential jurors outside the courtroom, records state.
However, an affidavit from Manke filed in Superior Court Feb. 10 said Manke didn’t address any potential jurors in the hallway prior to the trial and he was simply getting a chair for reserve officer Melissa Foust, who attended the trial and provided her own affidavit, according to records.
Foust’s affidavit said she didn’t see Manke talk to any potential jurors prior to the trial beginning. She also said she never saw Manke make eye contact or shake his head at jury members during the two days she attended the trial, records state.
Manke also said the only juror he knew prior to the trial was Eugene Mann, whom he said he knew as a neighboring farmer in the rural Harrington/Sprague area prior to the beginning of his law enforcement career in 2006. Mann attested that his relationship with Manke wouldn’t influence his decision in the Hood trial, records state.
The chief corroborated Hood’s mother’s claim that she asked Manke and Mann to not discuss the trial afterwards, to which Manke responded they could talk about whatever they wanted, according to records.
The accusations also said Manke and Schmierer were inappropriately discussing personal matters after the trial, including getting together to make sausages, according to court records. However, Manke’s affidavit said he didn’t know Schmierer prior to this conversation, which occurred after the trial, according to the affidavit.
Strohmaier’s final decision said there was no basis for a new trial and no evidence of prejudice toward Hood, which would have supported the motion for a mistrial, leading to the motion’s denial.
Hood’s sentencing was continued to Tuesday, Feb. 22 after Hood’s attorney, Douglas Phelps, said he didn’t receive the memorandum concerning Hood’s offender score, according to court records. The sentencing is scheduled for 10:30 a.m.
Drew Lawson is the former managing editor of the Davenport Times and a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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