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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Sirens & Gavels archive for June 2011

THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 2011

Escape plot timed to guard's lunch break

By GENE JOHNSON,Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — Following the strangling of an officer at the state prison in Monroe this year, national correctional experts made a simple suggestion for improving safety at Washington's prisons: Eliminate meal breaks for corrections officers. The idea to have the…

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New website aims to help combat gangs

A new website has been launched to help combat gang activity in Spokane County. The website, developed by the Greater Spokane Substance Abuse Council and the Spokane Violent Crime Gang Enforcement Team, allows citizens to submit antonymous tips about gang activity. Tipsters are given a…

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Investigators examine a crash scene June 20 on U.S. Highway 395. The driver of the red car was killed. (Dan Pelle)

Deputies in fatal highway pursuit ID'd

Investigators have released the names of the law enforcement officials involved in the pursuit that ended with a diabetic man dying in a head-on crash with a semi truck. Deputies Jennifer Wrotenbery and Mike Northway were in separate patrol cars when they saw Daniel J.…

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Murder victim Jamie Lynn Drake is pictured in 2006 with her prized 1993 Mustang. (Spokane County Sheriff's Office)

Spokane murderer dies in escape attempt

Murder victim Jamie Lynn Drake is pictured in 2006 with her prized 1993 Mustang. (File photo) A Spokane man serving 45 years for the murder of a 19-year-old woman in 2006 was shot and killed today in what prison officials describe as an apparent escape…

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Oldtown chop shop has Spokane ties

A suspected chop shop under investigation in Bonner County caught the attention of Spokane County authorities last winter when they heard a car thief used the property to dispose of a vehicle. Washington State Patrol investigators were helping U.S. Marshals look for a felon at…

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Edgar Steele disbarred in Washington 

Idaho attorney Edgar Steele won’t be representing any Washington clients from his jail cell. The Washington Supreme Court suspended Steele Wednesday from practicing in the state pending disciplinary proceedings that could result in disbarment. Steele faces at least 30 years in a federal prison for…

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Seattle murder suspect confesses to jury

By GENE JOHNSON,Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — A man wearing a shock sleeve to control outbursts and hand mitts to prevent him from stuffing dangerous items into his mouth testified Wednesday that he committed the horrific rape and stabbing of a lesbian couple in Seattle…

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Tom Rice nominated for federal judgeship

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Rice was nominated today by President Barack Obama for a federal judgeship in Spokane. Rice, a 1986 magna cum laude graduate of Gonzaga School of Law, was among two judicial nominees announced by the White House Wednesday. The other is David…

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29, 2011

Kid's cellphone photo helps nab suspects

A 5-year-old child who grabbed his mother's cellphone from her purse during a shopping trip inadvertently helped arrest two repeat theft suspects in Spokane. The child accidentally took pictures of the suspects' vehicle as they fled with the woman's purse just after 5 p.m. Tuesday…

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Officer typed message just before crash

A Spokane police officer who hit and killed an intoxicated pedestrian in his patrol car in January was typing a message into his onboard computer just before the crash. Officer Gordon Ennis (left) told investigators he sent the message to another officer just before he…

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Cookie jar fingerprints lead to arrest

Fingerprints on a cookie container recently helped police identify suspects in a burglary last summer. A forensic specialist located the print on a container of animal crackers that had been disturbed during a burglary in a home in the 7800 block of North Debby Lynn…

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Bonner County investigators search Mr. D's Auto Repair and Salvage Yard on Highway 41, just south of Oldtown, as part of an ongoing car theft and stolen property investigation. (Bonner County Sheriff's Office)

Suspected chop shop raided in Idaho 

Bonner County investigators search Mr. D's Auto Repair and Salvage Yard on Highway 41, just south of Oldtown, as part of an ongoing car theft and stolen property investigation. Investigators looking for fugitives uncovered what they suspect to be a large stolen vehicle operation near…

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Vehicular homicide suspect turns self in 

A Spokane man accused of causing a crash that killed his passenger turned himself into police Tuesday, one day after a reward was offered for tips that led to his arrest. Lyle David Eutsler, 26, is to appear in Spokane County Superior Court today via…

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Murder suspect confesses to TV news

A suspect in a Tucson, Ariz., homicide being held at the Spokane County Jail has repeatedly confessed to the crime during interviews with TV news reporters. Jonathan G. Baumbach, 26, told KHQ Tuesday that he met Robert Pardee, 61, through an online dating site after…

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100-year sentence in Craigslist killing

TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — One of the people convicted of killing a Pierce County man who had listed a ring for sale on Craigslist was given a 100-year prison sentence Tuesday in Tacoma. The 22-year-old Joshua N. Reese was convicted June 7 of murder, burglary,…

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This courtroom sketch depicts James "Whitey" Bulger before U.S. District Judge Mark Wolf during a hearing in a federal courtroom in Boston Tuesday, June 28, 2011. ( (AP Photo/Jane Flavell Collins))

Case continues against 'Whitey' Bulger

This courtroom sketch depicts James "Whitey" Bulger before U.S. District Judge Mark Wolf during a hearing in a federal courtroom in Boston Tuesday, June 28, 2011. (AP Photo/Jane Flavell Collins) DENISE LAVOIE,AP Legal Affairs Writer BOSTON (AP) — Federal prosecutors moved Tuesday to dismiss a…

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TUESDAY, JUNE 28, 2011

This handout photo provided by Nick Gonzalez for editorial purposes only, shows a police rifle left unattended on a patrol car outside a busy downtown area on Tuesday, June 28, 2011, in Seattle. A Seattle police spokesman says the department has launched an investigation into the incident. Rifles are assigned only to officers who have additional training and are usually kept in the trunk or between the driver and passenger seats. ((AP Photo/Nick Gonzalez))

Seattle police leave rifle unattended

This handout photo, provided by Nick Gonzalez for editorial purposes only, shows a police rifle left unattended on a patrol car outside a busy downtown area on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Nick Gonzalez) SEATTLE (AP) — A Seattle police spokesman says the department is embarrassed after officers…

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Murder defendant to wear shock device

SEATTLE (AP) — Jurors have spent the past three weeks listening to sometimes heart-wrenching testimony about the brutal rape and stabbing of a lesbian couple. Now they're finally going to get their first look at the defendant, who will be wearing an electroshock sleeve so…

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1 arrested in Spokane law office burglary

A suspect in a burglary at a Spokane law office Monday was identified after police recognized him while reviewing surveillance video. Brian Farrell Jones, Jr., 31, was booked into jail for the burglary at Keith Douglass & Associates, 1321 W. Broadway Ave. Police responded to…

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Detective Mark Burbridge holds a photo of Michaelle Champagne, reported missing in the early 1990s. Burbridge hopes some memories are jogged by his current work and that he can get new information on what happened to her. (Jesse Tinsley)

New clues sought in 1993 cold case

Detective Mark Burbridge holds a photo of Michaelle Champagne, reported missing in the early 1990s. (SR/Jesse Tinsley) Michaelle Champagne never went long without checking in with her family in Belgium. But after Champagne, a Spokane resident, called her parents during a visit to Washington, D.C.,…

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MONDAY, JUNE 27, 2011

Tips sought on suspect in fatal crash 

A reward is being offered for tips that help arrest a man accused of causing a one-car crash in February that killed a passenger. Lyle David Eutsler, 26, was intoxicated and speeding when he crashed his red Mazda MX6 into a pine tree while eastbound…

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Drunk posing as bull arrested in CdA

Dave Oliveria over at the Huckleberries blog regularly posts reports detailing the drunken antics of the downtown Coeur d'Alene bar scene. Here's a gem from today that was reported June 16 at 10:40 p.m. at North Fourth Street and East Sherman Avenue: "Officers arrested a…

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Woman gets 15 years for fatal shooting

SANDPOINT, Idaho (AP) — A 45-year-old Clark Fork woman has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for the shooting death of her boyfriend during an argument in a recreational vehicle north of Priest River last fall. Lorraine Kathryn Kenitzki was sentenced Thursday in 1st…

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Public safety news from the Inland Northwest and beyond.




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