State v. Vangen

The defendant, Dean Allen Vangen, appeals from a judgment of conviction after a jury verdict of guilty on five counts of first-degree forgery. He contends there was no forgery within the purview of the forgery statutes, RCW 9.44.010, 9.44.020, and 9.44.070; 1 and that his confession should not have been admitted into evidence because it was the fruit of a poisoned tree, i.e. an unlawful arrest.

The appellant, accompanied by a companion (Lincoln Brummett), had registered at the Holiday Inn (Spokane), hereafter referred to as Holiday, under the name of Elmer J. Johnson. He gave his address as…