Aug. 5, 2009 CASE UPDATES: August 2009State v. Branch: Defendant Andrew Branch has been convicted of First Degree Theft, Possession of Stolen Property in the First Degree, and felony Drug Possession stemming from 16 charged counts for running an identity theft operation from an apartment in North Seattle. The defendant had personal information of dozens of victims stored on computers, along with various materials necessary to manufacturing false ID and credit cards. The defendant now faces a standard range sentence of 43 to 57 months in prison. However, based on the number of crimes committed, the PAO plans to seek an exceptional sentence in this case. DPA Patrick Hinds handled the prosecution of this case. Return to the News State v. Eras-Duque: Defendant Juan Eras-Duque was convicted of three counts of First Degree Robbery for his role in the armed robbery of a convenience store where the defendant and his co-defendant ordered the victims to lie on the floor as the robbers took their wallets, purses, jewelry, and even removed their wedding rings. One of the victims was able to describe in detail the defendant's very distinctive cowboy boots. Her description of the boots not only led to the defendants' arrest by alert police officers, but also helped convince the jury to convict the defendant of these crimes. The defendant now faces 51-68 months in prison at sentencing. DPA Jenn Miller handled the prosecution of this case. Return to the News State v. Savoie: Respondent Joseph Savoie has two job skills (realtor and heavy equipment operator) and drives a Mercedes Benz; however, he has made only one child support payment since 2006. Earlier this year, the respondent received a $130,000 insurance settlement. Instead of paying any portion of his past due child support, the respondent chose to buy himself a new $25,000 truck and make a down payment on a new house. When Senior DPAs Lisa Dufour and Rian Ebesugawa learned of the respondent's insurance settlement, they immediately initiated court proceedings to access the insurance funds, resulting in the full payment of all past due child support ($10,262) and a payment of $8,000 for two years of future support for the respondent's minor child. Return to the News State v. Strizheus: Defendant Anatoliy Strizheus was convicted of Attempted First Degree Murder for stabbing his estranged wife nine times. The victim managed to escape the attack and flee to her neighbor's house. The defendant now faces over 20 years in prison. DPA Kristen De Turenne handled the prosecution of this case. To read more about this case, click here. Return to the News | 