Blakely pleads not guilty to soliciting death of wife

Judge upholds $3 million bail; change of venue possible

Ralph Howard Blakely pleaded not guilty in Grant County Superior Court Tuesday morning to soliciting to kill his wife from an Airway Heights jail cell.

His bail will remain at $3 million, despite pleas from his attorney, Robert Schiffner, that Blakely's funds are tied up in a trust fund, thereby making a high bail unnecessary.

But whether the case will remain in Grant County or move to Spokane is still up in the air.

Blakely is accused of soliciting fellow inmate Robbie Juarez to kill his ex-wife, Yolanda Blakely, and his daughter, Lorene Blakely.

After Juarez told authorities that Blakely had allegedly made a verbal offer of $40,000 to kill the two women while both were serving time at Airway Height Corrections Center.

Juarez told this story to Grant County deputies, who arranged for him to set up written correspondence with Blakely after Juarez was released.

Blakely then allegedly sent a letter to Juarez at a Moses Lake address, saying he had funds available and including the address of a woman presumed to be Lorene Blakely, according to a report from Grant County Detective Dave Matney.

Schiffner told Judge John Antosz that he plans to file a motion to change the venue of the case because he feels all elements of the alleged took place in Spokane County.

Prosecutor John Knodell said he feels Juarez' receiving the letter in Grant County means an element of the crime occurred there.

As Blakely was sitting in the prisoners' box, awaiting his arraignment, a friend, Pete Eriksen, tried to tell Blakely several times to request a change of bail, even being told by a bailiff to cease communication with the prisoners.

In an interview after the arraignment, Eriksen said he did not want Blakely to be tried in Grant County because of his recent U.S. Supreme Court victory.

The Supreme Court recently ruled Blakely should not have received a sentence beyond the statutory maximum for kidnapping his wife with a weapon and driving her to Montana. The decision has legal experts throughout the country wondering what will happen to sentencing guidelines.

Knodell argued that case before the Supreme Court.

The biggest argument yesterday, however, was over the amount of Blakely's bail. Schiffner argued that all of Blakely's wealth is tied up in a trust fund as ordered by a Spokane County judge, so the bail should remain at the original $50,000 ordered by Antosz after the new charge was filed.

Additionally, Blakely lost half of his money when his divorce became final while he was in prison, Schiffner said.

"There is a constant misunderstanding as to how much money Mr. Blakely has," Schiffner said, adding, "He has absolutely zero control over his money."

The trust fund is controlled by Spokane attorney James Spurgelis, who was appointed by the Spokane judge about three years ago, Schiffner said. In fact, until Schiffner and co-counsel Garth Dano can make arrangements with Spurgelis, they are taking the case for free, Schiffner said.

But Knodell argued that $3 million may not be enough, with Blakely's history of larceny and kidnapping in 1969 and his "incredible capacity for cruelty to his wife and members of his family.

"I think it is certain that if he is released, there are going to be some dire consequences here," Knodell said. "We can't afford to take a change with Mr. Blakely here."

Antosz ruled the $3 million bail would stand pat. Blakely is scheduled for a pre-trial hearing on Aug. 10. His trial is scheduled to start on Aug. 24.