Tips on a roll, but face tough test
A legend will sing the blues in his birthplace A&E
FRIDAY, 04.10.2015
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EVERETT, WASHINGTON
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Guilty in guardian’s death Brad George, 17, admits he killed the woman who raised him
Lawsuit follows birth in jail The inmate, who said she was using heroin daily and received no prenatal care, says staff ignored her and denied medical care. By Rikki King Herald Writer
the scenes for a year to resolve the case. They have spent little time litigating the case in court. Instead they have sought out the advice of forensic psychologists and others who specialize in the treatment of mentally ill juveniles. The experts agree that the next few years are critical for George. “Despite his lifelong struggles with mental illness and his paranoid and delusional belief at the time of the murder that Ms. Latshaw was going to hurt or kill him, Washington law provides no statutory mental defense for Mr. George’s actions that day,”
EVERETT — A woman who gave birth in the Snohomish County Jail in 2013 has filed a civil rights lawsuit in federal court. Tawni Kosnosky, now 27, alleges that jail staff ignored her cries for help and denied her medical care during labor. She gave birth on the toilet in her cell on Feb. 2, 2013. She had been booked five days earlier for a no-bail warrant related to allegations of forgery, possession of a controlled substance, possession of stolen mail and trafficking in stolen property. Kosnosky, who weighed about 95 pounds, was seven months pregnant and being monitored for heroin withdrawals after she was booked, records show. She told jail staff she had not received any prenatal care and was using heroin every day. The lawsuit, filed this week in U.S. District Court, alleges that Kosnosky asked multiple times for help during labor and was told to lie down. She continued to ask for help and was told to stop pushing the emergency button in her cell, she alleges, before she gave birth “frightened and alone.” The “outrageous conduct” by jail staff caused Kosnosky extreme distress, the suit says. It does not name a dollar amount. A claim filed against the county in October, as a precursor to the lawsuit, sought $150,000. Snohomish County will review the lawsuit and respond, said
See GUILTY, Page A4
See JAIL, Page A4
KEVIN CLARK / THE HERALD
Brad George, 17, is led to the courtroom to continue his sentencing hearing Thursday afternoon at the Snohomish County Courthouse in Everett. George was sentenced to 24 years for the murder of his caregiver, Gina Latshaw.
By Diana Hefley Herald Writer
EVERETT — A Snohomish County judge on Thursday sentenced a mentally ill teenager to 24 years in prison for bludgeoning his guardian to death last year. Gina Latshaw didn’t give birth to Brad George but she was his mom. She had raised the boy since he was a toddler and spent years trying to find the right help for him. He was neglected as an infant and showed symptoms of mental illness from an early age. Latshaw, 37, never gave up on her son. “I think what I’ve agreed with
myself is I’m going to make things better then what they are now,” George said Thursday. “I am sorry.” George, 17, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder before he was sentenced. Lawyers had agreed to recommend the 24-year sentence. Under the law, George can petition to be released after serving 20 years because he was convicted before he turned 18. “There’s just something broken,” Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Paul Stern said. “That poses a great danger to folks if it goes unmitigated or untreated.” George may be held at a juvenile detention center until he
is 21. He will then be moved to adult prison. The lawyers agreed that for the next few years George would be better served by the Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration, which provides opportunities for aggressive behavioral treatment specifically for juveniles. There is no guarantee that he will be safe to be released after 20 years, but it is his best chance, Stern said. “I have some hope that his mental illness is not static or permanent,” defense attorney Natalie Tarantino said. Superior Court Judge Michael Downes was told that lawyers have been working behind
Hunt for pot Easter eggs runs into major buzzkill MONROE — A hazy area of the law led to the cancellation of a hunt for Easter eggs full of marijuana. It all started when employees of Green Valley Collective, a medical marijuana dispensary on Highway 203 in unincorporated
Snohomish County, publicized the Saturday event on Facebook and Northwest Leaf, a magazine that covers the marijuana industry. “We were just going to have a party,” said owner Lynn Boyd, 55. “I didn’t give it enough thought.” But Snohomish Regional Drug and Gang Task Force
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Commander Pat Slack did. He called the dispensary earlier this week, wondering if the planned festivities were legal. As a law enforcement officer, Slack said, even he’s unclear about the rules. That makes for a challenge in enforcing regulations for medical marijuana and the state’s new recreational pot law.
Prez precedent Female to the chief: Julia Louis-Dreyfus returns in her HBO series, “Veep,” on Sunday, but her character has now moved up to the Oval Office. At least five other shows have featured a female POTUS, including Patty Duke in “Hail to the Chief ” and Geena Davis Dear Abby. . . .D5 Horoscope . . . B6
“In my eyes, if you went to that event and you picked up an egg with marijuana in it that wasn’t from a state-licensed store, you’re committing a crime,” Slack said. After the conversation, and not wanting any trouble, Boyd canceled the event. “It wasn’t a bake fest or (to) see how high we can get,” Boyd said.
in “Commander in Chief ” (Page D6). As concerns about her email scandal continue to dog Hillary Clinton, Democratic Party officials are said to be asking each of the six actresses about a four-year deal with an option for one four-year extension. Channel-surfing the vast
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cultural wasteland: PBS broadcasts the United Nation’s jazz celebration, “International Jazz Day,” at 10 tonight (The Clicker, Page D6). Although the mainstream media will deny it, viewership is mandatory and those who do not comply will be sent to FEMA jazz re-education camps. Sports . . . . . . . C1 Stocks . . . . . .A10
“It was just in fun.” The festivities were to include a hunt for Easter eggs full of free marijuana and concentrates, including one called “nitro honey oil.” The plan was to put samples of the products, which are intended to be used as medicine, inside the eggs. See BUZZKILL, Page A4
Time flies; you won’t: Alaska Airlines topped the government’s on-time list, arriving on schedule 85 percent of the time (Page A9). Alaska Air’s on-time performance is even more remarkable when you consider the time involved in harassing cancer patients and tossing them off flights.
—Jon Bauer, Herald staff
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the buzz
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