3 Spokane men wrongly jailed for years denied money from state

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — A Spokane County judge has denied compensation by the state to three Spokane men who wrongly spent four years in prison.

The men, Robert Larson, Tyler Gassman and Paul Statler, were convicted of robbery, assault and drive-by shooting in a 2008 drug-related incident. They sued the state in January 2014 for more than $680,000 for the wasted time behind bars.

Their conviction was based on information from a jailhouse informant who later recanted.

The Spokesman-Review reports that Judge John Cooney found the men had a claim for legal malpractice. But he said they were not entitled to compensation under the state's law related to wrongfully convicted persons.

Boyd Mayo, one of the attorneys representing the men, says the legal team is weighing appeal.