Clyde Ray Spencer stood at the top of the steps at the Clark County Courthouse for a few minutes Wednesday morning before heading inside for his hearing.
The sidewalk at the foot of the stairs was lined with reporters and video cameras on tripods, but the media wasn’t there for Spencer. The former Vancouver police officer had spent 19 years in prison for sexually abusing his children. He had always maintained his innocence and was about to have his record wiped clean.
The day was a long time coming for Spencer, whose lifetime prison term was commuted in 2004. He was allowed to withdraw his no-contest pleas following appellate rulings that shredded the way his case was investigated by the Clark County Sheriff’s Office. His two children now say they were never abused and were rewarded by a detective for saying otherwise; Spencer’s ex-wife had an affair with a supervising detective.
But on Wednesday, the media was hoping to catch a glimpse of Bethany Storro, who lied about having acid thrown in her face.
While most of the media was seemingly unaware of Spencer, there was one exception.
As Spencer and his family headed inside, a petite woman in high-heels, a pencil skirt and a bright pink top hustled up the stairs, hoisting a large TV camera onto her shoulder. The woman was with ABC’s “20/20” and trained the camera on Spencer as he passed through the metal detector and waited in the courthouse lobby.
Once inside the arraignment courtroom, the woman scooted along the courtroom bench, trying to catch shots of Spencer, his attorney, his wife and his children. She captured the tears and smiles when Superior Court Judge Robert Lewis dismissed the charges against Spencer.
The rest catch up
After Spencer’s hearing on the ground floor of the courthouse was over, the rest of the media, which had been on the fourth floor covering Storro’s first appearance on theft charges, jumped on the Spencer case.
Outside the courtroom, Spencer was surrounded by video cameras, microphones, cameras and bright lights as reporters from local TV stations peppered him with questions.
Unlike Storro, who left the courthouse without answering questions, Spencer was ready.
For about 10 minutes, Spencer and his children smiled, cried and answered every question asked of them.
The “20/20” episode is scheduled to air Oct. 29.
Off Beat lets members of The Columbian news team step back from our newspaper beats to write the story behind the story, fill in the story or just tell a story.
