Former assistant to developer Harlan Douglass gets two days in jail for theft

Bryan J. Reilly is expected to check himself into the Spokane County Jail on Wednesday as punishment for stealing jewelry, watches and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash from his former boss – real estate developer Harlan Douglass.

Reilly, 27, who served as Douglass’ personal assistant until 2015, was sentenced last week to two days in jail after pleading guilty to one count of first-degree theft, a felony.

Spokane County Superior Court Judge John Cooney also ordered Reilly to pay Douglass more than $38,000 in restitution.

That’s on top of roughly $1 million in damages that Reilly was ordered to pay when Douglass won a civil lawsuit against him in May 2018. Cooney presided over that trial, too.

Reilly’s sentencing put an end to years of litigation. He was identified as a suspect in 2015 after roughly $700,000 was taken from Douglass’ home in Colbert, along with Rolex watches, gold rings, and gold and silver bullion.

Reilly has no prior felonies on his record. Though he’s obligated to repay a huge sum of money, Douglass’ attorney, Steven Hassing, said the brief jail sentence came as a disappointment.

Hassing had filed an unusual motion urging Cooney to throw out a plea deal Reilly had reached with prosecutors, saying his punishment would be too lenient. Cooney denied that motion during Reilly’s sentencing hearing Thursday.

Hassing said Douglass, 81, plans to donate any restitution he receives to Soroptimist International of Spokane, a nonprofit women’s organization that his late wife, Maxine, belonged to.

“The money, to Harlan, is not the biggest thing,” Hassing said. “We just believe that Reilly needed to be punished for his crimes. We felt that the thief ought to feel the sting, to some extent.”

Reilly’s attorney, Derek Reid, said his client is “just glad to be moving on.”