A former Everett School District teacher accused of espionage is hoping to get out of federal custody Friday.
Deborah Cummings has been behind bars in Spokane since February, accused of trying in 1999 to pass along stolen top-secret information related to U.S. chemical, nuclear and biological capabilities.
Her lawyer, Christian Phelps, will ask a judge on Friday to release her on bail.
"Ms. Cummings maintains that she didn’t mail any documents. She didn’t do anything the government is alleging she did," Phelps said. "She’s just amazed and bewildered this has become what it has."
Cummings, who taught at Cascade High School, and her ex-husband, Rafael Davila, a former National Guard officer, were arrested Feb. 4 by the FBI.
Davila, a Vietnam veteran, is charged with stealing secret documents during much of his 30-year military career, including a stint as an intelligence officer in Spokane and Tacoma for the Washington Army National Guard.
Cummings is charged with trying to deliver some of the materials to an anti-government group. She’s also charged with lying to federal investigators.
Assistant U.S. attorney James Shively said the government has not been able to find the stolen documents. He declined to discuss what they contain.
Phelps said Cummings was aware her husband had some military paperwork, but did not know what the documents were.
"They never found a single classified document in her possession," Phelps said.
Cummings and Davila’s trial was scheduled to start Sept. 2 but was delayed until Dec. 8 by U.S. District Court Judge Robert Whaley in Spokane, Shively said.
Cummings, also known as Davila-Cummings during her tenure at Cascade, was hired at the high school in fall 2000. She resigned in June 2002. Since then, she had been teaching special education for the Pasco School District.
Cummings hopes to teach again if she is acquitted, Phelps said.
"I don’t know if after all this publicity anyone would hire her," he said.
If convicted, Cummings and Davila could face up to 10 years in prison and fines of $250,000.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
Reporter Katherine Schiffner: 425-339-3436 or schiffner@heraldnet.com.
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