Sheriff Rebukes GOP Lawmaker Over Triple Murder Claims

SPOKANE (AP) — A Spokane County sheriff is rebuking a Republican state legislator for attempting to connect his office to a triple homicide.

The Spokesman-Review reports that Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich is calling on fellow GOP officials to disavow Rep. Matt Shea's claims or he will rescind his election endorsements.

Shea released a podcast earlier this week claiming that the firearm a decorated Iraq War veteran used to kill his estranged wife's mother, stepfather and brother can be traced back to Spokane County Deputy Travis Pendell.

Roy Murry, of Lewiston, Idaho, has been charged with three-county of premeditated first-degree murder.

Knezovich says Shea's statements are false and the weapon used in the triple homicide has not been found.

Shea, a tea party favorite from the Spokane Valley, did not respond to the newspaper's request for comment, but later posted on his Facebook page that Pendell is innocent of any wrongdoing.