SPOKANE, Wash. — A man the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office arrested for a 2020 homicide has been awarded $500,000 in a settlement with the county.
Attorneys representing Joseph Riley believe the settlement is the largest for a wrongful arrest lawsuit in the county’s history.
In December 2019, 40-year-old Daniel Jarman was killed in a fight in a parking lot near E. Sprague Avenue and Pines Road in Spokane Valley.
Witness testimony led detectives to arrest Riley for Jarman’s death.
Charges were dropped a few days later when investigators determined the witnesses were incorrect.
MORE: Spokane County prosecutor declines charges in fatal parking lot fight
Riley’s attorneys say he was at home with his family at the time of the incident.
In October 2020, law enforcement identified the suspect involved but the prosecutor’s office declined charges due to inconclusive evidence if Jarman was acting in self-defense.
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