Man charged in Moscow shooting to remain in Washington
Coeur d'Alene Press | UPDATED 9 years, 11 months AGO
COLFAX, Wash. (AP) - An Idaho man charged with killing his mother and two other people during a shooting spree in Moscow will not be returned there immediately to face murder charges, a judge ruled Friday.
John Lee, 29, will remain in Washington to face charges before being extradited to Idaho, Whitman County Superior Court Judge David Frazier ruled.
Lee is accused of going on a shooting rampage in Moscow on Jan. 10. No motive has been offered.
Following the shootings, Lee drove into Washington and was arrested after a high-speed chase, police said. He faces felony eluding charges in Washington, and three counts of first-degree murder and one count of first-degree attempted murder in Idaho.
A trial for Lee on the eluding charges was pushed back to May 11.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys have said it is common to finish charges in one state before extraditing a person to another state.
Authorities said Lee shot his mother, landlord and an Arby's restaurant manager on Jan. 10 at three separate locations and wounded another man.
Police were first dispatched to the office of Northwest Mutual financial services in Moscow after receiving a 911 call from shooting victim Michael Chin, 39, court documents state.
Officers found David Trail, 76, with gunshot wounds. He was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead. Trail was the landlord of Lee, who lived in an apartment above the insurance office.
Chin, who had been meeting with Trail, survived after being shot in the arm and leg.
Police then received a report of a shooting at the Arby's restaurant. Police found Belinda Niebuhr, 47, lying in the parking lot with multiple gunshot wounds. She was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Authorities say Lee drove eight miles west to Pullman, Washington, and led police on a pursuit that hit speeds exceeding 100 mph. He lost control of his car on U.S. Highway 195 and rolled several times off the side of the road.
Five firearms were found inside the vehicle, the documents say.
Moscow police doing a welfare check on his parents found Terri Grzebielski, 61, dead of gunshot wounds in her home.
Jerry Grzebielski was not home when the shooting occurred.