Plea to reduced charge ends jewelry sales case

Brandon D. Smith, 28, Moscow, was sentenced 364 days in jail Friday after he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of being in possession of stolen property. Smith had initially been charged with trafficking in stolen property.

Smith, who was a suspect in a series of burglaries in the Moscow and Pullman area, was charged after missing items from those burglaries were located in a warrant search at his residence near Genesee.

Investigators learned two Pullman women associated with Smith had been selling jewelry items to Sam Dial Jewelers in Pullman. Officers contacted the duo in December of 2017 and determined items taken by Smith were sold by them.

The two women allegedly admitted that Smith had requested they sell the stolen jewelry in exchange for paying them part of the sale proceeds, according to the investigation report.

The 364-day jail sentence assigned to Smith Friday was suspended. He was placed on unsupervised probation for a year and ordered to pay a total of $324 in restitution to two of the victims. Smith has been under specialty court supervision in Latah County since 2017.

Donna Green, 55, and her daughter, Ashley Green-Noel, 26, both of Pullman, were charged earlier this year with trafficking in stolen property in connection to the Smith case. The charge against Green was dismissed in superior court and later resolved in district court.

The charge against Green-Noel is still pending, and an arrest warrant was issued Aug. 19 after she failed to appear for a court date.