Guilty plea for pot extract blast in car

A Spokane man will serve no jail time after pleading guilty to manufacturing marijuana extract in his car, causing an explosion that injured his 3-year-old daughter.

Jacob W. Sayman, 28, pleaded guilty Wednesday to attempted second-degree assault and manufacturing a controlled substance; both are felonies. The blast occurred Aug. 4, 2013, while he was driving in the Garland District.

Spokane County Superior Court Judge Gregory Sypolt sentenced Sayman to a year of supervised release and found him to have a chemical dependency. Sayman will be required to continue mental health treatment, take a parenting class and pay about $4,800 in restitution and court costs.

He was eligible for a reduced sentence because he is a first-time offender. As part of a plea agreement, prosecutors agreed to drop a third-degree child assault charge.

“I don’t think he intentionally assaulted his child,” said Kari Reardon, Sayman’s attorney. “I think it was sheer stupidity that brought him to his actions.”

Sayman also was ordered to have no contact with his daughter outside weekly four-hour supervised visits provided for in his existing parenting agreement. The girl’s mother said in court that her daughter has recovered physically from the explosion but “mentally, no, it’s never very far from her mind.”

Before he was sentenced, Sayman apologized to those he had hurt.

“I’m extremely sorry to my daughter, most of all, for causing her any pain,” he said.