Co-counsel appointed in murder case

SANDPOINT — Trial co-counsel has been appointed in the capital case pending against a Washington state man accused of stabbing a cab driver to death in Bonner County.

Jay Weston Logsdon, an attorney with the Kootenai County Public Defender’s Office, was appointed to Jacob Corban Coleman’s defense on Wednesday, documents filed in 1st District Court show.

Logsdon is one of four attorneys in the 1st Judicial District listed on the Idaho Supreme Court’s roster of capital defense counsels. Logsdon was part of the defense team for Jonathan D. Renfro, who was convicted of shooting and killing Coeur d’Alene Police Officer Greg Moore in 2015. Renfro was subsequently ordered to Idaho’s death row.

Logsdon, a graduate of Boston University School of Law, was admitted to the Idaho State Bar in 2011.

Logsdon joins R. Keith Roark, a Twin Falls attorney who was appointed to represent Coleman earlier this year because of his experience in capital cases. Roark also was a member of Renfro’s defense team.

Coleman, a 20-year-old Puyallup resident, is accused of repeatedly stabbing Gagandeep Singh, a cab driver whom Coleman hailed a ride from at Spokane International Airport on Aug. 28, 2017. Coleman, according to testimony in the case directed Singh to drive him to Clark Fork. En route, Coleman had Singh stop at the Ponderay Walmart, where Coleman purchased a hunting knife authorities said was used to kill Singh.

Singh ultimately stopped in Kootenai, where he was stabbed as many as 27 times, according to a coroner’s report.

Coleman is charged with first-degree murder. He pleaded not guilty, setting the stage for a six-week jury trial in 2019. He remains held at the Bonner County Jail.

Bonner County Prosecutor Louis Marshall put the defense on notice the state would be seeking the death penalty against Coleman due to the viciousness and callousness of Singh’s murder. Bonner County’s last death penalty case dates back to a execution-style homicide in 1996.

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