SPOKANE — A 33-year-old will go to prison for at least 23 years for raping, kidnapping and robbing a woman last year.
Warren J. Pittman was convicted of the crimes as well as criminal impersonation and malicious mischief in July.
Judge Annette Plese on Tuesday handed down the 23-year sentence that stemmed from the April 2021 attack.
Pittman followed a woman out of a gas station in the Logan neighborhood, flashed a gun and told her he was a cop. He took the woman to the Ramada Inn in Spokane Valley, where he tied her up, threatened her grandmother, told her about people he tortured and later sexually assaulted her. He also took some of her belongings. The woman left a note in the hotel room that said she had been kidnapped and needed help, court documents said.
Pittman was arrested but later bonded out and fled to Mexico. He was arrested again near the U.S.-Mexico border in January.
During the sentencing, Pittman listed his grievances with his trial in a rambling and hurried statement to the courtroom, complaining of a “biased jury,” “suppression of evidence” and a violation of his constitutional rights. He also expressed his desire for a new trial.
“My rights were severely violated,” Pittman said. “The law is broken here.”
Pittman also mentioned his knowledge of Mexican cartels and his willingness to help U.S. Border Patrol.
After he finished, Plese asked him, “Anything else?”
“I’m sorry,” Pittman said.
Plese disagreed with Pittman’s complaints but advised him that he had 30 days to file an appeal.
“Listening to the evidence they had, I have severe concerns over what happened and the terror felt by the victim during the 18 to 24 hours,” Plese told Pittman.
Pittman’s defense attorney, Annie Wasilewski, asked the judge for the “low end” of the sentencing range because of Pittman’s cooperation. Pittman faced a sentencing range of 280 months to life in prison.
“He literally has no criminal history,” she said. “This is certainly out of character.”
Pittman was sentenced on the “high end” of an indeterminate amount of prison time with a minimum of 23 years.
He will have to appear before a review board for release after serving the minimum sentence. He will also be required to serve three years of community custody after his release.
