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Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Suspects plead not-guilty to charge of stealing bird net as one witness says story was fabricated
SPRAGUE – Paul Belmont Brown, 61 and Lenora Ellen Brown, 65, pleaded not-guilty to a second-degree theft charge in Lincoln County Superior Court before being booked and released Aug. 10. The duo is accused and charged with stealing a bird net from Star West Development in the city in early June.
Brown and Brown were originally arrested on charges of theft, trespassing and vandalism outside U.S. Bank on First Street in Sprague June 4, according to police records.
Star West Development contacted the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office the next day to say they had installed bird netting at the old U.S. Bank to prevent birds from roosting and causing a nuisance when two suspects allegedly cut the netting before eventually stealing it, records state.
David Thompson of Sprague gave a statement June 15 saying he saw a female, later identified as Lenora Brown, walk over to the netting and take the edges off the net before rolling it up. She got out of a car driven by Paul and Lenora Brown, records state.
Thompson said he confronted the pair about the theft before Lenora Brown began profanely yelling at him. He also alleged that Sprague mayor John Eagleson gave the pair permission to remove the net, according to records.
Star West Development’s statement said Eagleson was aware of the netting being put up, and also said a sprinkler system was damaged in the theft. Thompson alleged he had “no doubt” Lenora Brown damaged the sprinkler system. “No Trespassing” signs were also reportedly moved, but Thompson said he didn’t see Paul or Lenora Brown doing this, according to the police report.
The development said the damage of the lost bird net totaled $1,140 and the loss of the sprinkler system valued $300, according to records.
The second-degree theft charge was forwarded to the Lincoln County Prosecutor’s Office, who decided to file the charge July 26 before Paul and Lenora Brown appeared in court Aug. 10.
Jeffrey Smith of Sprague added an extra element to the story when he gave a statement Aug. 6, saying the bird net had been sitting on the ground for a week and the original story was fabricated, according to records.
Paul and Lenora Brown are scheduled to re-appear in Superior Court for a status hearing Sept. 21 before a jury trial Oct. 20.
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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