Man suspected of stealing Kalispel Tribe artifacts arrested near Yakima
Kevin William Wissman, 61, was arrested during a traffic stop in the Yakima area on Jan. 15, court documents said. He is being held in the Yakima County Jail, according to the jail's roster.
A shadow box containing five moccasins and a gauntlet made in the 1940s were stolen in October 2020 from a display case at the Kalispel Tribe's resort and casino in Airway Heights. The incident was caught on security cameras.
Wissman is charged with theft from an Indian tribal organization, a federal misdemeanor. A grand jury in U.S. District Court for Eastern Washington indicted him in October 2023.
Wissman evaded arrest for 15 months using a false identity, according to a motion by prosecutors asking that he be detained for risk of fleeing. The court documents said Wissman was previously arrested on a DUI charge, but provided a false name, then failed to appear for a required hearing. When he was apprehended Jan. 15, he reportedly provided the same false name but eventually admitted to being Kevin Wissman. He was also wearing a disguise with two hairpieces stuffed under a beanie to make him look like he had long hair, the documents said.
It wasn't immediately clear what became of the artifacts.
Washington State Department of Corrections' Community Response Unit, serving as part of the Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force, helped with the arrest, the agency said in a statement.
The task force is led by the U.S. Marshals Service, which collaborated with Kalispel Tribal Police on the investigation. The FBI, U.S. Border Patrol, Yakima County Sheriff's Office and Yakima Police Department assisted with the investigation.
James Hanlon's reporting for The Spokesman-Review is funded in part by Report for America and by members of the Spokane community. This story can be republished by other organizations for free under a Creative Commons license. For more information on this, please contact our newspaper's managing editor.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Gupta lawyers fail to appear for Trafigura fraud case hearing
By Eric Onstad LONDON (Reuters) -Lawyers representing Indian businessman Prateek Gupta said they failed to appear for a hearing on Monday because of funding difficulties in a long-running fraud case brought by commodity trader Trafigura about nickel cargoes, a London court heard. Geneva-based Trafigura, a major industrial metals and oil trader, filed a lawsuit against Gupta in February 2023, alleging it had been the victim of a $600-million fraud involving nickel cargoes masterminded by Gupta and in which he and his companies participated. Gupta has said in his defence that Trafigura staff devised the scheme at the centre of the case to substitute low-value materials such as scrap for high-grade nickel. Trafigura and its employees have denied any knowledge of fraud. Gupta's lawyers Preston Turnbull informed Trafigura and the court on Friday that due to a lack of funding they would not be attending Monday's hearing regarding the use of documents in a separate arbitration case. "That is an excuse which has been routinely trotted out by the Gupta defendants throughout these proceedings when it had suited them to do so, and it is without any merit," Trafigura lawyer Edward Ho told Monday's hearing. Preston Turnbull did not respond to a request for comment. In March 2024, lawyers for Gupta told a court he had run out of funds to pay legal fees, and in June last year Gupta changed lawyers to Preston Turnbull from Mishcon De Reya. "The court has previously found, and I agree, that there are sources of funding available to the Gupta defendants," Ho added. "Alleged funding issues have been a recurring theme... to justify their failure to meet court deadlines and to comply with court orders." Judges have granted a succession of delays over many months to Gupta to meet deadlines for disclosure of documents relevant to the case, which is due to go to trial in November. Judge Robin Knowles on Monday granted Trafigura's request to use nine documents disclosed by Gupta in the current fraud case in a separate arbitration case due to be heard next month. The arbitration case involves Trafigura and Hong-Kong based Axiom Ltd because Trafigura sold one of the cargoes provided by Gupta to Axiom, which was found not to contain nickel, the court heard. (Additional reporting by Sam Tobin; Editing by Jan Harvey) Sign in to access your portfolio
New York Post
3 hours ago
- New York Post
Illegal migrant suspect in deadly Florida crash was nearly deported — then allowed to stay after claiming he was afraid to return to India
An illegal migrant who allegedly killed three people after making a rogue U-turn on a Florida highway is an Indian national who was previously processed for deportation but was able to stay after claiming he was afraid of being sent back to his home country. Harjinder Singh crossed the southern border into California in September 2018 and was processed for fast-track deportation by the first Trump administration, Fox News reported. 4 Illegal migrant Harjinder Singh allegedly made an illegal U-turn on a Florida highway, killing 3 people. gurubatth5/TikTok Advertisement 4 Singh was previously processed for deportation but permitted to stay. gurubatth5/TikTok But after claiming fear of being sent back to India to US Citizenship and Immigration Services, Singh was released on a $5,000 immigration bond in January 2019 and has remained in proceedings ever since. 4 The semi truck struck a minivan after the rogue U-turn. St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office He was arrested on Saturday by US Marshals in California on a warrant for three counts of vehicular homicide in connection to a deadly crash in Florida at around 3 p.m. last Thursday. Advertisement A tractor-trailer driven by Singh made a hard left turn on the Florida Turnpike near Fort Pierce and attempted to cross the median through an 'Official Use Only' pass, authorities said. 4 Harjinder Singh crossed the border into the US in September 2018. Advertisement As it blocked all lanes of oncoming traffic, a minivan then slammed into the trailer at full speed, becoming wedged underneath and killing a 37-year-old Pompano Beach woman, a 30-year-old Florida City man and a 54-year-old Miami man, Treasure Coast Newspapers reported. Shocking video from inside the truck cab window shows Singh apparently completely unaffected at the moment of impact, calmly putting his vehicle into park and turning the engine off.
Chicago Tribune
a day ago
- Chicago Tribune
Video of Merrillville woman's arrest by Lake County Sheriff's Department shows excessive force before miscarriage, lawyer says
A Merrillville woman's lawyer said recently released bodycam footage backs up her accusations that Lake County Sheriff's deputies forcibly pulled her from a vehicle during an arrest despite knowing she was pregnant. Three months later, she had a miscarriage. I'm '(expletive) pregnant,' Shikeia Randolph, 31, yells just before two officers pull her from a red Chevrolet Trailblazer, according to video obtained by the Post-Tribune through a public records request. A federal lawsuit accusing the officers of excessive force was filed two months ago in the U.S. District Court in Hammond. It alleges that a 3:24 a.m. traffic stop on June 5, 2023 was 'pretextual' — for an issue with a license plate cover, then a school truancy warrant — and quickly spiraled out of control. The video from an officer's dashboard camera appears to show, as she is arrested, the two officers turn her on her stomach as one pins her down to handcuff her hands behind her back. Randolph previously told the Post-Tribune she had just stopped for milk at a 24-hour gas station in Gary near Ridge Road and Grant Street with her four kids in the vehicle. She was supposed to drop them off at her mother's house, then head to her early shift as a receptionist at the Gary Housing Authority. Officer Peter Hamady, who pulled her over, is named with the sheriff's department in the lawsuit. His lawyer Casey McCloskey declined comment. In a federal filing on Aug. 7, McCloskey formally denied the accusations against Hamady, saying in part that his actions were 'objectively reasonable' and protected by 'qualified immunity.' Some of Randolph's claims could fall outside of a two-year statute of limitations, he wrote. McCloskey argued because Randolph refused to get out of her SUV, she forced cops to go after her, according to court documents. She disputed this, in interviews with the Post-Tribune. On the way to booking, Randolph tells Hamady the truancy case in Merrillville Town Court was for taking her daughter repeatedly to school a little late when she was in pain from just having another baby, according to footage recorded inside Hamady's police car. He appears to soften. 'I didn't know they had warrants for that,' he said in the footage. In an interview, Matthew Custardo, Randolph's lawyer in the federal lawsuit, argued the use of force was unjustified, even if she was arguing with the cops. 'She was confused why she was being pulled over,' he said. 'She's scared. She has every reason to be a little concerned about what's going on. She's standing up for herself, certainly.' According to the nearly 40-minute bodycam video, police officers tell her to call someone to pick up the kids, so they don't have to call child protective services. Originally, Randolph said she thought it might have been a warrant for an old driving while suspended case. 'Call CPS for what?' she responds in the video. 'A warrant for a suspended license?' 'It's not for that,' Hamady tells her in the footage. After she asks again, he says it's for truancy. 'Listen, you have a warrant,' Hamady said in the video. 'You're lucky I don't have you cuffed out of the car right now. You wanna go that route?' In the video, she accuses Hamady of pulling out of a nearby parking lot before she passed him. 'Ma'am, I was behind you,' he responded in the footage. At least three other officers are in view. 'I'm taking you to court,' she the phone, Randolph tells her mother the '(expletive) police' pulled her over as she asked her to get her kids, according to the video. She asks officers to wait until her mother arrives. 'I guess they are going to take me to jail,' she said over the phone in the footage. Randolph said in a previous interview with the Post-Tribune that the encounter appeared to escalate when she rolled up her window slightly to hear what her mom was saying. The arrest happens within about 12 minutes into the footage. As officers open her car door and grab her arm, Randolph's children can be heard crying in the back seat. 'This is your last warning,' one of the officers said in the video. 'We don't want your kids to see this.' 'You already freaked my kids out,' she said. 'Get out of the (expletive) car,' one officer stated in the footage. I'm '(expletive) pregnant,' she yells just before two officers pull her from the vehicle after she tried to cling to the steering wheel in the video. 'Let me go! Get off of me! Please get off of me! Somebody help me!' After she is handcuffed on the ground, a police dog is seen in the background of the dashboard camera footage. Randolph's white shoes are scattered nearby. 'I'm trying to help you out here,' one officer tells her in the video. Randolph was charged with resisting law enforcement two months later. Hamady's account in court documents makes no mention of her pregnancy. During the ride to booking at the Lake County Jail, they talk at length about her decision to have a fifth child, according to footage inside the police car. Her fiancé wanted one last child, she said. When Hamady asks how far along she is on the video, she responds she's nearly 12 weeks pregnant. 'Well, congrats to you,' he said in the video. Hamady stated in the footage that her bond should be $400. It's 'not Friday, so it's a good thing,' he tells her in the video. 'I'll make sure they keep you updated.' He asks if she's comfortable as late-'90s era music plays over the radio, the footage shows, before they chat about where she is planning to get married. Do you 'want the window open back there, or are you good?' he asks in the video. Since police insisted on towing her red Chevrolet Trailblazer, Randolph's mother had to take four kids back in a cramped sedan, a situation that was not likely 'legally safe,' Custardo said. Randolph's lawsuit alleged her arrest suggested a 'broader pattern' in the Lake County Sheriff's Department, including 'inadequate training,' 'insufficient supervision' and a 'failure to implement effective accountability measures,' according to court documents. The Lake County Sheriff's Department refused to answer questions related to the incident, including what kind of de-escalation training its officers receive at various stages in their careers. Hamady joined the department in 2022, according to court filings. Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr. declined comment through a spokeswoman, who said he could not discuss pending litigation. Watching the video with her mother was 'very emotional,' Randolph said in an Aug. 5 interview, especially hearing her kids crying in the video's background. She refused to let her 12-year-old daughter view it. 'I feel better now that I've seen it,' Randolph said. 'It matches the exact story I've been telling for so long.' There's been some 'expected' backlash online after a pair of articles in local newspapers, Randolph said. She was there trying to protect herself and her Williams, her criminal public defender, said she did remember parts of the case in retrospect, and confirmed she tried to get the bodycam from the Lake County Sheriff's Department 'multiple times' since the case was filed in August 2023. Court filings show one discovery request for the body cam was made as late as October 2024. The only reason not to turn it over was if they 'didn't want me to see something,' she said. Randolph was tired of repeatedly coming to court for a slow-moving case, Williams said. She told her client that she could fight to get the bodycam footage, or take a pretrial diversion to get rid of the case in a year. 'It's common to get slow discovery (evidence) when you're requesting bodycams,' Williams said, adding that some police departments are worse than others, but she's had 'good experience' with the sheriff's department in the past. Randolph's case is scheduled for a pretrial diversion hearing on Aug. 15. However, an automatic court filing on Aug. 11 appears to show there may be a snag. Court filings show Randolph, her fiancé and sister were charged June 26 with resisting law enforcement in Hobart. Hobart Police Cpl. Christopher Sipes wrote that Randolph and her fiancé got his attention around 1:30 a.m. May 25 on Main Street for ignoring a 'pedestrian signal.' , Randolph said they were out that night celebrating her fiancé's birthday. As End Zone let out across the street, a crowd, including the half-dozen in her group, were migrating to the other bar, Randolph said. At least two officers were there, as someone behind them yelled something about the guy handcuffed on the ground getting arrested nearby. The officer thought her fiancé said something, she said. Sipes wrote he and the other officer followed them into Cagney's. 'Bulls jersey, stop right there,' the other officer said to Randolph's fiancé, according to court records. As they got to the bar, Randolph said an officer grabbed her arm from behind. According to court documents, when the officer asked for identification, the couple 'ignored' him and said they 'didn't do anything.' Randolph 'stepped in front' of officers to block them from her fiance. As the cops went to arrest them just inside the bar's entrance, the crowd 'became aggressive,' the officer wrote. During a 'struggle' as she was being handcuffed, Randolph's black strapless top fell down, exposing her breasts, records state. Randolph said in an interview she tried to turn away for some privacy, because there were a 'million people standing around.' Once she stood up, an officer wrote, he pulled her top back up, records state. She denied she got in their way or refused to give her identification card. The officer was bigger than her, and it didn't make sense that she could overpower him. The whole incident was 'very unfortunate,' her lawyer Patrick Young said Aug. 7, adding he's working with prosecutors to resolve the case.
