Keeping cool is important during the upcoming heat wave
‘7 Minutes’ of Everett action on the big screen A&E
A3
Sheriff details reform at jail Mentally ill inmates will be assessed daily and an outside corrections expert will review operations in light of a man’s recent death. By Diana Hefley Herald Writer
COUPEVILLE — Island County Sheriff Mark Brown detailed Thursday the changes he’s making to the way mentally ill inmates will be cared for at the jail, including daily assessments by medical staff and record sharing. Brown also said he is in the final stages of hiring an outside corrections expert to review jail operations. The changes were implemented after an investigation determined that Keaton Farris died April 7 in the Coupeville lockup from dehydration and malnutrition. Farris, 25, lived with bipolar disorder. Corrections officers had shut off the water to stop him from flooding his cell. He received a fraction of the water necessary to survive. Records also show corrections officers failed to check on him hourly. Two officers, who reportedly falsified records, have resigned and two others have been put on leave. Island County Prosecuting Attorney Greg Banks is reviewing the case for possible criminal charges. Brown said Thursday that “based on the findings in the investigation, along with input from local health care professionals and jail staff, we have instituted changes to our policies and procedures to make sure our inmates are safe and their medical issues are immediately and thoroughly addressed.” The reforms include a review of the jail’s mental health services by Island County Human Services Division. The Island County Health Department also will review the medical care provided at the jail. A mental health professional will assess inmates daily and have direct contact with those who express or exhibit symptoms of mental illness. Those interactions must be documented in the inmate’s file. There also will be mental health and medical screenings. Corrections officers must have more frequent contact with inmates held in safety cells. See JAIL, Page A2
Business . . . . .A9 Classified . . . . B1 Comics . . . . . .D4
1260650
Crossword . . .D4 Dear Abby. . . .D5 Horoscope . . . B6
●
EVERETT, WASHINGTON
●
WWW.HERALDNET.COM
●
75¢ (HIGHER IN OUTLYING AREAS)
45 sex trafficking cases A rough estimate puts the number of women and girls who are engaged in prostitution in the county at 250. By Diana Hefley Herald Writer
EVERETT — A protracted investigation into juvenile sex trafficking in Everett has resulted in four people being charged with felonies. Prosecutors allege the suspects, including a married couple, promoted the sexual
abuse of three girls, ages 17, 16 and 15. The girls were advertised online, met strangers for sex in an Everett motel room and were forced to turn over money they made to the adults, according to court documents. Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Matt Baldock has charged the married couple, Jaebrione and Alicha Gary with
promoting the commercial sexual abuse of a minor. Two other people, Sean Phillips and Mallory Hisgrove, are charged with conspiracy to commit the same crime. The defendants are scheduled to be arraigned in the coming weeks. All four have criminal history. The married couple has 17 felony convictions between them. “This case took awhile to put together,” Baldock said. “These often are long investigations if they are done right.”
There are about 45 ongoing police investigations into sex trafficking in Snohomish County, said Paula Newman-Skomski, a nurse with Providence Intervention Center for Assault and Abuse. Since October, the county’s hotline to report sex trafficking has received 93 calls. It is estimated that about 250 girls and women are engaged in prostitution in the county. That is a rough estimate See CASES, Page A2
Tribes sue to claim taxes $40 million a year collected from tribal-owned Quil Ceda Village
DAN BATES / THE HERALD
Seattle Premium Outlets, on Tulalip land bordering I-5 at Marysville, attracts consumers from all around the region.
By Noah Haglund, Chris Winters and Jerry Cornfield Herald Writers
TULALIP — When the Tulalip Tribes opened the Quil Ceda Village retail area on tribal land along I-5, they hoped to share in sales tax dollars that shoppers racked up by the millions. Instead, tribal leaders say, they’ve watched money flow to Olympia for the past 15 years, with few benefits in return. The tribes filed a federal lawsuit this month seeking control of more than $40 million in taxes that go each year to the state of Washington and
Lottery . . . . . .A2 Obituaries. . . .A6 Opinion. . . . .A11
Snohomish County. “Since 2000, we’ve sent a lot of money down to Olympia,” said Tulalip Chairman Mel Sheldon Jr. By contrast, the tribes built Quil Ceda Village with their own money and bridge loans, which came at the expense of providing more services to their own community, such as education and social services, he said. “All those things that a city does, that government does, need funding,” Sheldon said. Today, Quil Ceda Village has 150 businesses, among them Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Cabela’s and Seattle Premium Outlets. While it is an issue of
Sports . . . . . . . C1 Short Takes . . .D6 Stocks . . . . . .A10
on what the lawsuit is >> AallQ&A about, A6 sovereignty for the tribes, the suit has worried county leaders, who fear it could result in a painful budget shock and dozens of layoffs. Recent discussions have used $9 million as a starting point. That’s nearly 4 percent of the county’s $226 million yearly operating budget, most of which funds public safety. That makes County Councilman Ken Klein nervous. “We’re in a very precarious situation and this just exacerbates it,” Klein said. “The biggest part of our budget is law and justice.
The Buzz Never again have your lunch stolen from the office fridge. Page A2
Extrapolate that out and what does that mean? And people are already talking about delayed response times.” A worst-case scenario, to Klein, would mean cutting 90 jobs from the county’s 2,800-employee payroll. Many likely would come from the ranks of sheriff ’s deputies, deputy prosecutors and other public safety officials, Klein said. The real budget effect, however, could be far less. There’s also talk in both tribal and county governments of reaching an agreement to avoid disruptions. See TAXES, Page A6 Heating 83/58, C6
DAILY
FRIDAY, 06.26.2015
6
42963 33333
VOL. 115, NO. 134 © 2015 THE DAILY HERALD CO.
9