Topics
Delbert Belton
Summary
World War II veteran Delbert “Shorty” Belton was beaten and left for dead Aug. 21 in his car at the Eagles Lodge parking lot in North Spokane. Belton, 88, died the following day at Sacred Heart Medical Center.
Two 16-year-old boys, Demetruis Glenn and Kenan Adams-Kinard, were arrested separately in connection with the fatal beating, which Spokane police described as a robbery-turned-homicide. Glenn turned himself in to police shortly after surveillance photos of the suspects were distributed by investigators. Adams-Kinard was found by police Aug. 26 hiding in an apartment, and claimed in a letter to his mother that Belton was a drug dealer and had shorted them in a crack cocaine deal — an assertion that friends and family described as outrageous and police dismissed as unfounded. Prosecutors charged both teen-agers as adults with first-degree murder and first-degree robbery.
A survivor of the bloody Battle of Okinawa, Belton returned to Spokane and spent decades working at Kaiser Aluminum before retiring.
Key people
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Kenan Adams-Kinard
Kenan Adams-Kinard was arrested Aug. 26 after police found him hiding in a Spokane apartment with friends. In a letter to his mom that police believe was written by Adams-Kinard, the victim of the beating death was described as a drug dealer who had shorted them in a crack cocaine deal — claims that Belton’s family and friends call outrageous and police say are unfounded.
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Delbert Belton
Delbert Belton was found unconscious and bleeding profusely Aug. 21 in his car outside the Eagles Lodge in North Spokane. He died the following day at Sacred Heart Medical Center.
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Demetruis Glenn
Demetruis Glenn turned himself in to police after investigators began circulating surveillance photos of two suspects in the Delbert Belton beating death.
Key places
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Eagles Lodge
Delbert Belton was in his car in the west parking lot of the Spokane Eagle’s Ice Arena, 6321 N. Addison, waiting for a friend before heading into the nearby Eagle’s Lodge. A friend, Natalie Flom, found Belton unconscious and bleeding profusely in his car following a severe beating.
Latest updates in this topic
Doug Clark: Shorty deserved better, and his killers deserved more
Won’t be shopping for a pink XXXL tutu anytime soon. There’ll be no slow walk of contrition through River Park Square.
Second teenager sentenced to 16 years for role in veteran’s death
The second teenager accused of killing World War II veteran Delbert “Shorty” Belton in the summer of 2013 received a 16-year prison sentence that draws to a close a case …
Demetruis Glenn sentenced to 16 years in beating death of Delbert Belton
The atmosphere in the courtroom was somber as Demetruis Glenn, the second teenager accused of killing World War II veteran Delbert “Shortly” Belton, was sentenced to 16 years in jail …
Shawn Vestal: Wife’s words threaten public’s confidence in prosecutor
Should the views of a public official’s spouse matter to the citizens that official was elected to serve? This is the basic question raised by the case of Spokane County …
Second defendant pleads guilty to murder in beating of WWII veteran
Demetruis Glenn, the second of two teenagers accused of beating World War II veteran Delbert “Shorty” Belton to death in 2013, pleaded guilty to murder Monday morning, just hours before …
Second teen linked to WWII vet’s murder takes plea deal
The second of two teenagers linked to the 2013 beating death of World War II veteran Delbert “Shorty” Belton pleaded guilty this morning to murder.
Adams-Kinard gets 20 years in death of WWII veteran
The families of a victim and his killer displayed grief, forgiveness and redemption Thursday as a Spokane judge sent 17-year-old Kenan Adams-Kinard to prison for 20 years in the beating …
Restaurant’s ‘Shorty Can’t Breathe Either’ evokes racial comparison
Annie Pennington started waiting tables as a teenager, and remembers serving Delbert Belton, a friend of her father’s. Belton, a World War II veteran, was beaten to death in August …
Trial pushed to March in Delbert Belton murder
The trial for teenage murder suspect Demetruis Glenn was pushed back to March 10 today at the request of Glenn’s attorney, Christian Phelps.
Teenager pleads guilty in Delbert Belton murder
Appearing stoic and answering a judge’s questions with a monotone “Yes, sir,” Kenan Adams-Kinard, 17, changed his plea to guilty today in the 2013 murder of World War II veteran …
Plea expected today in WWII veteran’s beating death
The news that murder suspect Kenan Adams-Kinard planned to plead guilty came as a relief to Bobbie Belton, the daughter-in-law of slain World War II veteran Delbert Belton. Adams-Kinard is …
Guilty plea in killing of WWII vet scheduled for Wednesday
Kenan Adams-Kinard’s guilty plea in the 2013 murder of World War II veteran Delbert Belton has been rescheduled for Wednesday.
Suspect in WWII vet’s slaying expected to take plea bargain
A plea bargain is in the works for at least one of the teenagers suspected in the 2013 beating death of World War II veteran Delbert “Shorty” Belton.
Trial set for January in Delbert Belton murder
Two Spokane teenagers accused of killing a World War II veteran will stand trial in January.
Man pleads guilty to robbery in drug deal
The brother of a teen accused of murder pleaded guilty this week to a charge stemming from a drug deal robbery that ended in a shooting in January. Jahvory Kinard, …
Delbert Belton not a drug-user, friend said
World War II veteran Delbert Belton never used drugs, according to the woman who found his beaten body outside the Eagles Ice Arena in August 2013.
Case evidence in death of WWII veteran offers no new insight on motive
Digital files released this month in the case of two teens accused of beating to death an 88-year-old World War II veteran in Spokane last summer offer a compelling look …
Bond lowered for co-defendant in WWII vet’s slaying
A judge lowered 17-year-old Kenan Adams-Kinard’s bail to $1 million in the alleged robbing and slaying of 88-year-old Delbert Belton in north Spokane last year.
Trial in WWII vet’s death nears, but mix-ups delay release of records
Errors in compiling and redacting more than a thousand pages and digital files of investigative material may keep the public from viewing records in the beating death of a World …
Man arrested in alleged drug-deal shooting
A 19-year-old man was arrested Thursday morning after police say he shot a woman last week during a drug deal gone bad. Jahvory Kinard was booked into Spokane County Jail …
Aryan Brotherhood may target teen suspects, police say
Two Spokane teenagers accused of killing a World War II veteran during a parking lot robbery may have been targeted by the Aryan Brotherhood, a California-based white supremacist prison gang. …
Police: Aryan Brotherhood placed bounty on heads of WWII vet murder suspects
The two Spokane teenagers accused of killing a WWII veteran during a parking lot robbery reportedly are being targeted by the Aryan Brotherhood, a white supremacist prison gang. Court documents …
Trial of teens accused of slaying WWII vet pushed back
The murder trial Kenan Adams-Kinard and Demetruis Glenn, both 16, may not reach a jury before March, a Spokane County judge ruled Friday.
Teens suspected of murdering WWII vet appear in court
The two teenagers accused of beating a WWII veteran to death in August appeared together in a Spokane court Thursday morning. A hearing sometime this week will determine if their …
Suspects’ fingerprints found on slain World War II veteran’s car
Investigators discovered fingerprints linking two teenagers to an 88-year-old World War II veteran murdered two weeks ago.
Remembering Delbert Belton
Natasha Belton struggled to stay calm when a member of the United States Army Area Veterans Honor Guard handed her the American flag that had covered her great-grandfather’s casket. “I …
Delbert ‘Shorty’ Belton buried with military honors
Natasha Belton struggled to stay calm when a member of the United States Army Area Veterans Honor Guard handed her the American flag that had covered her great-grandfather’s casket.
Slain veteran’s son fights cancer
Bill Belton won’t see his father, Delbert “Shorty” Belton, laid to rest with full military honors this afternoon. He can’t. The cancer destroying his body has left him bedridden, unable …
Doug Clark: If ‘Shorty’ Belton dealt crack, I’ll don a tutu
So 88-year-old Delbert “Shorty” Belton was really a lowdown Spokane crack dealer. And not only that …
Shawn Vestal: WWII veteran’s death marred by hatemongers
It should be overwhelmingly obvious, but let’s just get this onto the record: Spokane gives a damn about Delbert “Shorty” Belton.
Teen claims vet dealt crack
The beating death of a decorated World War II veteran took a bizarre twist Tuesday. Prosecutors said one of the two suspects has suggested that the victim, 88-year-old Delbert Belton, …
Murder suspect claims 88-year-old victim shorted him in drug deal
The beating death of a decorated World War II veteran took a bizarre twist today in court. Prosecutors said one of the two suspects has suggested that the victim, 88-year-old …