Kennewick man files claim against agencies for family's murders

EPHRATA - A $20 million claim was filed against the City of Kennewick, Benton County and Grant County by a man whose wife and daughter were murdered in their Kennewick home in 2005.

Washington state was also listed in the claim as allegedly being negligent. It wasn't immediately known late Friday afternoon which state agency was part of the action.

Murder suspect James Moran had ties to Grant County through his mother, who lived in Moses Lake. After he reportedly killed his in-laws in Kennewick in 2004, he allegedly kidnapped his children. The children were found safe after receiving a phone call from Moran's mother in Moses Lake, America's Most Wanted Web site states.

Loren Moreno of Kennewick claims the agencies could have prevented Moran from allegedly killing his wife Linda Moreno and their 17-year-old daughter Danielle Moreno during an apparent home robbery a year after Moran's in-laws were murdered, the claim states.

Loren Moreno alleges the agencies didn't submit the only known fingerprints of James Moran to the FBI's database before Moran's reported subsequent arrest in Portland for a drug crime on May 30, 2005, the claim states.

At the time of the Morenos' deaths, there was already a warrant out for Moran's arrest in connection with the shooting death of his Kennewick in-laws, Glenn and Debra Carr.

Moran allegedly gave a false name to Oregon authorities during his drug arrest and his fingerprints were reportedly searched against the FBI database and the Western Identification Network (WIN).

Moran's fingerprints were only in the Washington State Patrol database, according to Moreno's claim. If true, Moran couldn't be identified if he was arrested outside of the state.

Moran was released from Multnomah County Jail.

He returned to Kennewick to reportedly kill Moreno's wife and daughter, the claim indicates.

Three days later, Moran committed suicide after a chase with Clark County Sheriff's deputies.

During the investigation into the Carrs' deaths, a Kennewick Police Department detective was reportedly told by a fingerprint technician that Moran's fingerprints were in the FBI's database, according to the claim. It was apparently believed the state and FBI databases were combined.

Kennewick's city attorney Lisa Beaton was unavailable for comment Friday. Her office verified the city received the claim.

Attorneys for Grant County and Benton County said it appeared the case was nearing its deadline to file a claim under the four-year statute of limitations. Claims are typically filed against government agencies as an effort to settle a case outside of court.

Steve Hallstrom of the Grant County Prosecutor's Office said Grant County referred the case to its insurance company, which will investigate the matter.

"It's a very difficult set of facts. It's very unfortunate," Hallstrom said. "It's going to be a thorny case to resolve."

Sometimes when the deadline is up to file a claim, defendants name everyone connected to the case and some parties are dismissed later, he said.

Ryan Brown of the Benton County Prosecutor's Office said Benton County also received the claim Thursday. He said he hadn't had a chance to look over the paperwork.

Kennewick Police were investigating the case when it was active, Brown said. He didn't know the roles of Benton County and Grant County, he said.

Messages left for Moreno and his Seattle-based attorney Charles T. Paglialunga weren't returned by deadline Friday.

But Moreno "continues to suffer greatly from the loss of his family," the claim states.

Three years later, the outgoing message for Moreno's answering machine hasn't changed.

The answering machine still informs callers they've reached the home of Loren, Linda and Danielle Moreno.