ASOTIN - A Lapwai man was ordered to pay $2,490 in fines and fees for allegedly making a false statement under oath during the November election.
Christopher P. Billups, 62, originally was charged with voter fraud for allegedly attempting to vote twice in the general election. He entered into a plea agreement on a reduced charge and was sentenced this week in Asotin County Superior Court.
According to court documents, Billups reportedly returned his Washington state ballot Nov. 1 and voted in person at Lapwai City Hall on Nov. 8. His original Class C felony charge was reduced to a gross misdemeanor in the plea agreement.
Asotin County Superior Court Judge Scott D. Gallina sentenced Billups to 364 days in jail, with all time suspended, and ordered him to serve one year of probation.
Earlier this year, a 63-year-old Clarkston man accused of forging his dead wife's name on an Asotin County general election ballot also pleaded guilty to a reduced charge. In that case, Donald R. Woodward's felony charge of second-degree perjury was dropped to false swearing, and he was ordered to remain crime free and complete one year of community supervision.
