In brief: Man, 77, dies after hit-and-run
A 77-year-old man who was struck Sept. 30 in a hit-and-run died Wednesday, upgrading the case against the unknown driver to vehicular homicide, police said.
Don Seever was closing the parking-lot gate at his downtown Spokane apartment building about 7 p.m. when a pickup sped out of the lot. Seever suffered serious head injuries when the truck hit him.
The white 2004 Ford F-150, Washington license B61183C, was illegally parked in the lot, police said. The male driver reportedly had been kicked out of the Zombie Room bar, 230 W. Riverside Ave.
Police Officer Jennifer DeRuwe said investigators tracked the license plate to a residence in Yakima. But police there didn’t find the truck, she said.
The license plate is now in a national database that will alert law enforcement if the pickup is connected to a crime, DeRuwe said.
A female passenger in the truck also could face felony charges, police said.
SPS aide named to state panel
Yvonne Lopez-Morton, 60, a project assistant for the Spokane Public Schools Safe Schools/Health Students initiative, has been appointed by Gov. Chris Gregoire to serve as chairwoman of the state Human Rights Commission
“Issues of civil rights and diversity are a great passion for me,” Lopez-Morton said. “I look forward to building a bridge with people who have not sat down at the table before.”
Lopez-Morton succeeds Kathy Baros Friedt, of Olympia, who has headed the commission since 2005, and joins Spokane attorney Shawn Murinko on the commission.
Spokane Valley
Police offering free shredding
The Spokane Valley Police Department will host “Shred Day” on Saturday, when people can run up to two boxes of sensitive documents through a paper shredder.
The precinct parking lot, 12710 E. Sprague Ave., will be open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for people to shred documents, according to a news release. From 11 a.m. to noon and 1 to 2 p.m., a Spokane County sheriff’s deputy will speak about the risks of identity theft and how to prevent it.
The Sheriff’s Community Oriented Policing Effort will be handing out software that allows parents to document their children’s identification and fingerprints. The disc can be given to police if a child goes missing.
Shred Day is co-hosted by the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, the Neighborhood Watch program, Target and DeVries Information Management. People are asked to make a donation to Neighborhood Watch.
Ferry county
Duffle bags of Ecstasy seized
Border officials seized more than 300 pounds of Ecstasy pills Monday near the U.S.-Canada border in Ferry County, according to court documents.
A witness reported he saw three people run across the border and throw duffle bags into a waiting pickup about 4:30 p.m., documents state. They reportedly ran into the United States at rural McIrvin’s Ranch, known as “the dump” because it is a common drug-smuggling location, at 198 McIrvin Road in Laurier, Wash.
The smugglers drove off, and the witness called authorities who pulled the truck over on Highway 395. A drug-sniffing dog was called out, and authorities found Ecstasy pills in five duffle bags, according to the documents.
The federal Drug Enforcement Administration seized the pills and arrested Tristan A. Reynolds, 26, and Joshua A. Vause, 27. They were in Spokane County Jail late Wednesday.