Suspect Questions Jury Selection Man Accused Of Poaching Wants Russians, Minorities

A Russian immigrant accused of poaching bears asked a federal judge to dismiss the pool of potential jurors Tuesday because it didn’t include minorities or anyone from Russia.

“No matter which way we choose them, they will be biased against me,” Nikolay Senchenko told the judge through an interpreter. “Why? Because … there was a Cold War between Russians and Americans. I talk to many Americans and they still have it in their heads.”

Many Americans resent immigrants, said Senchenko.

U.S. District Court Judge Fred Van Sickle denied Senchenko’s request, which came at the end of eight hours of jury selection.

Senchenko, a Spokane Valley resident who speaks little English, is accused of snaring bears in Pend Oreille County. State and federal wildlife agents found three of the powerful snares between 1993 and last fall.

Agents said they found gallbladders and other bear parts in Senchenko’s home and Isuzu Trooper. They arrested him on a trail leading to one of the snares.

If convicted, Senchenko, who became a U.S. citizen in 1994, faces up to five years in jail and a $250,000 fine.

Senchenko is representing himself in the trial, saying he doesn’t trust court-appointed attorneys.

However, Van Sickle appointed attorney Leslie Weatherhead to serve as his adviser.

Describing his function as that of a “Jimminy Cricket-type character” who sits in the corner and occasionally raises an objection, Weatherhead asked the judge to define his role.

“I assume the court didn’t want me to serve a purely decorative role,” he said.

Van Sickle said Weatherhead should raise objections only when Senchenko asks him to do so.

The judge excused two potential jurors because they said they were concerned Senchenko couldn’t get a fair trial representing himself in a foreign language.

“He’s from another culture and the interpretations might have an entirely different meaning to him than what they were intended,” said one man.

Three other potential jurors were excused after talking to the judge in private about their feelings about immigration.

Several potential jurors said they overheard discussions about the case in the jury room, and three asked to be excused from the case because of what they heard.

“I would feel better being on a murder case than a case involving animals,” said one man. “I’m an animal lover. I get mad at the guys at work who go off shooting Bambi.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo