Grand Coulee man gets maximum sentence

A Grand Coulee man was sentenced in Grant County Superior Court Monday to 29 months imprisonment for possession of stolen property.

According to the Grant County Prosecutor’s Office, Melvin Toulou, Jr., 43, still faces three additional Grant County felony charges.

The three additional charges are 1) a charge of possession of stolen property in the 2nd degree, and possession of a firearm 2nd degree, often referred to as possession of a firearm by a felon; 2) possession of stolen property 2nd degree, and trafficking of stolen property in the 1st degree; 3) possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine) and two counts of assault 3rd degree on a law enforcement officer.

There was no information as to when Toulou would face these charges.

Toulou also faces charges not yet determined in Lincoln County. Sheriff Wade Magers said Monday that charges there haven’t been filed yet because an investigation into a suspected co-conspirator is still underway. When that is completed, Lincoln County will file charges on Toulou, Magers said. He wasn’t specific on what those charges might be.

The 29-month sentence in Grant County Monday was for a car prowl Aug. 13, a class C felony, for being in possession of stolen property in the second degree.

Toulou, on that charge, was found guilty in a two-day jury trial that concluded March 16.

That arrest stemmed from an incident in which Toulou possessed a stolen digital camera and some fishing gear that had been stolen from Gretchen and Brandon Whitelaw. Mrs. Whitelaw went to Toulou’s residence at 308 Burdin Boulevard in Grand Coulee, asking for their items, and Toulou gave them to her.

Garth Dano, Grant County prosecutor, stated Tuesday that Toulou was given the maximum sentence of 29 months.