Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
DAVENPORT — A man with multiple impaired-driving convictions was sentenced to more than three years in prison after a judge said public safety outweighed any leniency.
Freddie Leeshell Franklin, 45, of Spokane pleaded guilty in Lincoln County Superior Court to felony DUI stemming from a traffic stop on Friday, Oct. 31, 2025. Charges of first-degree driving while license suspended and violation of an ignition interlock device were dismissed under a plea agreement.
Franklin’s criminal history includes DUI convictions in 2001, 2016 and 2017, as well as a felony DUI in 2021. With an offender score of six, his standard sentencing range was 33 to 43 months. Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Bruce Cox requested a sentence within that range.
Franklin told the court he hoped to learn from the outcome, citing his five children, including a youngest who recently turned 7.
Judge Walser said Franklin’s repeated offenses showed a pattern the court could not ignore.
“I can’t do 33 months, not with his history,” Walser said. “This monkey isn’t getting off your back anytime soon.”
Walser sentenced Franklin to 40 months in prison, followed by 12 months of community custody, saying each month incarcerated was “another month you are not endangering people on the road.”
“I have a responsibility to protect the citizens of this state,” Walser said, adding that Franklin was “out of control” and warned him of severe consequences if he reoffends.
Olivia Harnack is the award-winning managing editor/photographer/videographer/columnist at the Lincoln County Record-Times, with offices in both Davenport and Odessa, Wash. She is a University of Idaho graduate and a U.S. Army National Guardsman.
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