SPOKANE, Wash. — A 72-year-old Spokane County inmate is expressing frustration after records show that his criminal case has continued to languish in court.
According to court documents, William Mitchell's case has been delayed over twenty times due in part to public defenders assigned to his case quitting. During that time, Mitchell has sat in Spokane's jail for over two and a half years.
"I've been deserted!" exclaimed an emotional Mitchell during an interview at the jail on Thursday. "I'm supposed to depend on the public defenders after two and a half years and they've done nothing?"
A police report in Mitchell's case states that in January 2017, Mitchell essentially acted as a getaway driver for another man who had just stolen a drone from a couple shopping at the Shadle Walmart. During the incident, Mitchell is accused of repeatedly striking one of the victims with his car while attempting to drive away.
Mitchell, during an interview with KREM, admitted to driving during the incident, but said he had no idea that the suspect, a friend of his, intended to commit a robbery. Prior to the robbery, Mitchell said the suspect administered heroin to him and provided him with beer in exchange for a ride to Walmart.
According to a police report, witnesses saw Mitchell and the man drive up to a couple who were unloading a recently-purchased drone into their car at Walmart. "The suspect came up to their shopping cart and took the drone out of the shopping cart and turned around and got into the passenger seat of a green Subaru that was stopped in the parking lot right behind his vehicle," wrote an officer in the report.
One of the victims then ran in front of Mitchell's car in order to prevent the car from driving away, according to the report.
"The vehicle started moving and [the victim] began to backpedal so he didn't get ran over," the report reads. "Every step he took backwards, the front of the Subaru hit his shin/knee. He thought the vehicle hit him about 5 to 6 times."
"I'm going in and out of a blackout because of the dope and the alcohol," Mitchell said to KREM of the incident. "I don't remember nothing but [the suspect] yelling at me: 'Go!'"
Mitchell was subsequently charged with robbery and assault. An arresting officer noted in her report that Mitchell's assault charge stemmed from his using his car as a deadly weapon to strike one of the victims.
Following the 2017 arrest, Mitchell was assigned an attorney though the public defender's office. Since then, however, court documents state his initial lawyer and two subsequent attorneys have all left the public defender's office, leaving Mitchell essentially caught in the middle.
"The public defender's office hasn't done anything. Conducted no interviews with my witnesses. And they've refused to talk to me," he said.
A motion filed this week on Mitchell's behalf blamed a "revolving door" and high turnover at the public defender's office for repeated delays in Mitchell's case. The court record also accuses the office of "government misconduct" due to the case being continued 21 times.
"The 'revolving door' of appointed counsel has been a persistent problem for Mr. Mitchell and for many other indigent defendants represented by the Spokane County Public Defender's Office," says a section of the motion. "Not only does Mr. Mitchell's new public defender have to get acclimated to his case, they also have an increased workload due to the diminishing number of attorney's in the office."
The public defender's office didn't immediately return a phone call seeking comment on Thursday.
Mitchell says his current public defender, who is also set to leave the public defender's office, argued in court that Mitchell should be provided with a private attorney due to the repeated delays in his case. Mitchell noted that he was appreciative of her efforts.
Still, he said the situation has left him at wit's end.
"It's like they're trying to work for the prosecution, against me or something," Mitchell said.
Mitchell's criminal trial is currently scheduled for next month.
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