Subpoena quashed in murder case

SANDPOINT — The Bonner County Prosecutor’s Office was ordered Friday to route subpoenas in the capital murder case against Jacob Corban Coleman through the clerk of the court or the court itself.

Judge Barbara Buchanan also granted a defense motion to quash a subpoena filed by Prosecutor Louis Marshall to obtain Coleman’s school records from a district in Puyallup, Wash.

Coleman’s lead attorney, R. Keith Roark, argued Idaho’s criminal court rules require the state to file subpoenas through the court.

“In criminal cases, they should be issued by the court. This one apparently was not,” said Roark, who participated in the hearing via phone.

Marshall disagreed, citing Idaho’s statutes governing criminal procedure, which permit prosecutors to file subpoenas in criminal matters. He added that those statutes were not amended when the Legislature updated the code in 2012.

“That language was not changed in 2012 so it’s been a longstanding practice that prosecuting attorneys are allowed to issue subpoenas. It’s right in the code,” said Marshall.

Marshall also argued that the Coleman lacked standing to bring the motion.

“My client is on trial for his life and the suggestion that he does not have standing to challenge what we consider to be an improperly issued subpoena is one that, frankly, takes my breath away,” said Roark.

Buchanan ruled Coleman did have standing and found that the criminal rule cited by the defense superseded Idaho Code.

“It’s really important in a case like this that we have a clear record of everything that’s issued in the case,” Buchanan said.

Coleman, 20, is accused of stabbing Gagandeep Singh to death inside Singh’s minivan taxicab in Kootenai on Aug. 28, 2017. Coleman hailed a ride from Singh at Spokane International Airport earlier in the day and directed Signh to drive him to Hope. During the trip, Coleman had the cab stop at Walmart, where he purchased the hunting knife that was used to kill Singh, a 22-year-old from Spokane Valley, Wash.

Coleman allegedly told Singh he was suicidal, prompting the cabbie to inquire if he should contact Coleman’s family. Coleman was repeatedly stabbed shortly thereafter, according to testimony in the case.

During Friday’s hearing, Marshall said that the school records subpoena was to determine if the killing was motivated by hate. Coleman is white, while Singh was Sikh.

“From the outset of this case and this investigation, there were serious questions raised as to whether this murder was committed because of racial or religious animus,” Marshall said.

Marshall said investigators ultimately determined that Coleman was not motivated by hatred of Singh’s ethnicity or religion.

The state is seeking the death penalty against Coleman due to the viciousness and callousness of the attack.

Coleman is scheduled to stand trial in April 2019.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.