PO man gets year in jail for helping Trooper’s killer
By KEVAN MOORE
Central Kitsap Reporter Staff Writer
May 8, 2012 · 4:38 PM
After taking a plea deal, a man who rendered criminal assistance to Joshua Blake following the shooting of Washington State Trooper Tony Radulescu Feb. 23 in Gorst, got a stiffer sentence than expected.
Steven Michael B. Banks, 43, was sentenced Weds. April 25 in Kitsap County District Court to 364 days in jail for helping Blake, who authorities say killed Trooper Radulescu during a traffic stop on Highway 16.
After the shooting, Blake arrived at a house on Scofield Road where Banks lived. Five other people accused of helping Blake following the shooting remain in custody awaiting trial.
Blake ultimately went on to kill himself as police closed in on him.
Prosecutors and Banks’ attorney had recommended a sentence of four months, but Kitsap County District Court Judge Jeffrey Jahns imposed the high end of the range for second-degree rendering criminal assistance, a gross misdemeanor. Authorities believe that Banks knew that Blake was in trouble with law enforcement, but was not aware that Blake had killed a state trooper.
Contact Central Kitsap Reporter Staff Writer Kevan Moore at kmoore@soundpublishing.com.
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