Two accused of home invasion to stand trial

Two men accused of breaking into a Friday Harbor apartment and assaulting the man who lives there in the violent altercation that ensued will stand trial on felony charges in late October. The two men were allegedly in pursuit of prescription drugs.

On Aug. 9, Travis James Webster, 26, and Taiya Autumn Speed, 23, each pleaded not guilty in San Juan County Superior Court to one count of first-degree burglary, a Class A felony that carries maximum penalties of life in prison, a $50,000 fine, or both.

Bail was set at $2,500 for each, pending trial.

According to court documents, authorities claim the two men were plotting to steal prescription medication from a man whom they both knew and wearing masks when they knocked on the door of his Linder Street apartment on July 11, shortly before midnight. When the man answered the door, they reportedly kicked it open, rushed into the apartment and demanded that he hand over the medication. They allegedly pounced on the man and a struggle ensued.

The man’s two young daughters were asleep in the living room, near where the fight broke out, at the time, according to court documents. His wife, who quickly came to his aid, became involved in the altercation as well.

During the struggle, the husband and wife fended off the assault and unmasked the assailants, who then fled the apartment. The four combatants reportedly know one another and the two alleged burglars were identified by name by the couple following the break-in and attack.

Authorities arrested Webster and Speed the following day.

Bakerview burglar appeals conviction

A Lopez Island man with long criminal record that includes five prison terms for felony burglary is appealing his most recent burglary conviction in San Juan County.

On July 26, Daniel Glenn Roadruck, 49, was sentenced in San Juan County Superior Court to 68 months in prison, the maximum time allowed under the standard range of sentencing set by the state for second-degree burglary. Roadruck was convicted by a jury two weeks earlier in Superior Court of two counts of second-degree burglary and of second-degree criminal trespass.

A Class B felony, second-degree burglary carries maximum penalties of 10 years in prison, a $20,000 fine, or both. He was also ordered to pay $600 in fines and fees; restitution has yet to be determined.

Roadruck recently filed an appeal seeking to overturn the jury verdict at the state Court of Appeals. His most recent felony conviction stems from a rash of burglaries in Lopez Island’s Bakerview Road neighborhood during a three-month period beginning in April. At that time, he was out on conditional release pending trial on a misdemeanor theft charge for allegedly stealing meat and cash from Horse Drawn Farm. He was arrested on the theft charge in May.

According to court documents, Roadruck broke into and stole various items from two homes, one workshop, a storage shed and a secured campsite between April and late June. DNA tests on two cigarette butts found beneath a riding lawnmower in the storage shed on Bakerview Road tied him to that break-in and theft, and detectives found several items connected to other burglaries near his home.

Knife-wielding homeless man gets four months

Exactly one month to the day after he was arrested for brandishing a knife and threatening a grocery store employee who chased after him for shoplifting, a 33-year-old man was sentenced to four months in jail for felony assault.

On Aug. 6, Stanley Vincent Sing, identified in court documents as homeless, pleaded guilty in San Juan County Superior Court to one count of second-degree assault, a Class B felony, and to one count of third-degree theft, a gross misdemeanor. He was ordered to serve four months in jail, credited with having served 31 days of the sentence, and ordered to pay $876 in fines and fees.

According to court documents, two employees of Orcas Island’s Island Market saw Sing stealing food and beer on several occasions on July 6, and one of the two trailed after him when he left the Eastsound grocery store. Sing reportedly pulled a knife on the man and threatened him, and then took off on foot in the direction of Crescent Beach. Deputies later found him near the beach, hiding in the brush, and took him into custody.

A Class B felony, second-degree assault carries maximum penalties of 10 years in prison, a $25,000 fine, or both; however, the standard range of sentencing set by the state is three to nine months in jail.