Former county clerk arrested Friday

MOSES LAKE - Former Grant County Clerk Kenneth Kunes is facing felony charges after he was arrested Friday for allegedly threatening to kill his wife at a Moses Lake home.

Kunes, 60, who served two terms as county clerk from 1999 to 2006, was charged in superior court with felony harassment with threats to kill, unlawful imprisonment, fourth-degree domestic violence assault and interfering with reporting domestic violence stemming from an incident early Friday morning.

According to police reports, Kunes and his wife are reportedly separating and argued Friday morning over some property at a home on South Laguna Drive. Kunes reportedly thought his wife had property that belonged to him.

Kunes then allegedly pinned his wife to the bed twice and demanded she give him the property.

At some point, Kunes took his wife's cellphone to prevent her from calling 911. He also allegedly threatened to kill both his wife and her dog, according to police reports.

Bail was set at $10,000 and a no-contact order was filed to protect the victim. Kunes was also ordered to surrender any firearms in his possession.

Prior to being elected as county commissioner, Kunes was employed as a corrections officer with the sheriff's office from 1986-1999. He also served as a member of the Washington Jail Industries Board of Directors.