The following is an article from The Spokesman Review:
EWU mourns death of two students
By Thomas Clouse
Staff writer
Thanksgiving weekend turned into turmoil for the families of at least two Eastern Washington University students.
Pend Oreille County Sheriff’s investigators continue to sort out the details of the Saturday night dragging death of 20-year-old EWU student Jerid S. Sturman-Camyn.
Evan Buelt, president of the Associated Students of EWU, said Sturman-Camyn was a fellow member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity in Cheney.
“I can’t express enough that Jerid was an amazing individual,” Buelt said. “He is definitely missed.”
A vigil will be held tonight from 7 to 9 at the Sigma Phi Epsilon facility, at 419 5th St. in Cheney.
In a separate incident early Thursday, 20-year-old Ryan J. Emery was killed after a Washington State Trooper said Emery fled as the trooper was trying to arrest him for driving under the influence.
WSP Trooper Mark Baker said a trooper had stopped Emery at about 1:30 a.m. Thursday at North Wall Street and North Carolina Way. The trooper determined Emery was driving under the influence and attempted to arrest him.
Baker said Emery assaulted the trooper and fled the scene. Near Whitworth University, Emery drove over a curb, flattened a tire but continued to drive away. He failed to negotiate a turn and went down a 200-foot embankment. He was thrown from the vehicle and was dead by the time the trooper arrived.
“On behalf of the Eastern Washington University community, President Rodolfo Arvalo would like to offer his heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the two EWU students who died in separate off-campus incidents during the Thanksgiving recess,” university spokesman Dave Meany said in a release.
Buelt said he didn’t know Emery, of Colbert, but he offered condolences to his family.
“Again, the students are just trying to understand what is going on. We honor both lives of these students,” he said. “The students and entire university are in support of these students and primarily their families.”
According to Pend Oreille sheriff’s officials, Sturman-Camyn was dragged as many as four miles behind a pickup down a rural county road. The vehicle was driven by a 17-year-old who said he thought he was being chased by an ax-wielding assailant.
Wendell C. Sinn Jr., 45, the father of the teen driver, has been arrested on the charge of second-degree murder in connection with the dragging death.
According to his personal Web page, Sturman-Camyn, whose nickname is “Bubba,” was heavily involved in martial arts and combat sport fighting. He belongs to the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu club of Spokane.
A man who answered the phone at the club Sunday night said Sturman-Camyn had been training there for about eight months.
Sturman-Camyn attended high school in western Washington. He was studying civil engineering at EWU and previously attended Washington State University.
On his MySpace page, Sturman-Camyn wrote that he is “known to get a little wild at times and I like to live by the motto `go big or go home!’?”
Buelt said he never saw Sturman-Camyn use his fighting skills in an aggressive way.
“Anything regarding mixed martial arts was in the ring only,” Buelt said. “Part of his core value was self defense. He was very passionate about mixed martial arts and his education as well.”
Meany said EWU has counseling services available for any students or faculty who want them.
“Obviously, it’s tragic and sad,” Meany said of the two deaths.
