From the June 2000 Idaho Observer:

Browning in jail, Bereiter will stand trial and Evensons make a deal

NEWPORT, Wash. -- Several stories we have reported from Pend Oreille county requiire an update:

Leonard Browning

A brilliant and well-intended perpetual pro se litigant was thrown in jail by District Magistrate Eugene Marano for Contempt of Court. Leonard Browning traveled to Coeur d'Alene to appear in court May 25 and was arrested for failure to appear because the hearing was held the day before. It was an honest mistake for which the judge ruled a $6,000 bond for release though Browning has significant ties to the area and would never dream of intentionally missing a court appearance.

Browning is fighting a decision by Kootenai county that declares he has been operating an illegal junkyard when, actually, he just has a lot of inoperative machinery in his yard that some people would consider to be junk.

Browning's hearing has been scheduled for June 27. He has refused to pay any money for his release. The retired man is using his jail time to perfect his defense.

Bob and Lynn Evenson

We frontpaged the story of the Evensons last April. Through the Evensons we exposed what appeared to be a conspiracy by the Pend Oreille County Sheriff's Department to manufacture animal abuse complaints against people, seize their registered horses (leave grade horses behind) and place them in foster care until people, looking at jail time and fines, just give up and abandon their horses to the extortion of the county.

The Evenson's had an excellent case that may have exposed the scam and could have resulted in criminal charges being brought against corrupt county officials and employees. But they made a deal June 7. They agreed to pay $90 in court costs and $1,000 of a $4,000 vet bill the county racked up while their healthy horses were in foster care. All charges against the Evensons will be dropped when they move out of the county for a period reported to be a least a year.

Morris Bereiter

Morris Bereiter made the front page of The Idaho Observer in July, 1999, when we reported that he was being charged with assault, obstructing an officer and failure to stop.

On January 1, 1999, a notoriously sober Bereiter failed to come to a complete stop on an icy road when nobody was coming because that was the safest thing to do with his two boys in the car.

Pend Oreille County Sheriff's Deputy Greg Rogan pulled him over. Bereiter apparently did not pull over fast enough. Rogan, with backup Thad Schultz, maced and beat the non-hostile man at a routine traffic stop and threw him in the drunk tank.

Charges against Bereiter had been dismissed when the issue became hot, and were then brought back a few months ago. A motion hearing was held June 7. All of Bereiter's motions were denied by Judge Eaton and a one-day trial has been set for June 27.