In brief: Neighbors help capture suspects
Neighbors helped Spokane Valley police capture suspects in two separate home burglary reports Wednesday.
Police arrested three men early Wednesday morning with what police described as a “duffel bag full of guns” after a neighbor saw burglars break into a home near Valley Way and Sullivan Avenue about 6:11 a.m., said police Sgt. George Wigen.
The suspects, whose names were not available, face charges of first-degree burglary and possession of stolen firearms, according to police.
Wednesday afternoon, another neighbor watching a different house reported seeing three men climb a fence into the backyard and watching at least one drive a truck out of the home’s garage. The truck crashed through a fence at a home at 21st Avenue and Becker Court following a police pursuit, Wigen said.
The driver, Wendall D. Bagley Jr., 23, was arrested after a short foot chase and booked into Spokane County Jail on felony charges of residential burglary, possession of a stolen motor vehicle and attempting to elude a police vehicle. His alleged accomplices have not been apprehended.
SEATTLE
Safeco sale won’t affect field’s name
A Safeco Corp. spokesman said Wednesday the Seattle Mariners’ home field will continue to be called Safeco Field despite Liberty Mutual Group’s agreement to buy Seattle-based Safeco.
Safeco spokesman Dave Monfried said the insurance company will maintain a significant presence in Seattle and retain the ballpark’s naming rights.
Boston-based Liberty Mutual said Wednesday it has agreed to buy Safeco Corp. for $6.2 billion.
Monfried said Safeco will retain its 85-year-old brand name and continue selling policies through its national network of agents and brokers.
Horizon may switch to propeller craft
Horizon Air says it’s considering selling its 20 Bombardier jets and replacing them with Bombardier Q-400 propeller-driven planes.
The Seattle regional airline says the switch would save fuel and give it a fleet with a single aircraft model.
Horizon marketing director Dan Russo said Tuesday the airline is close to a decision.
The Q-400 turboprop built by the Montreal planemaker is nearly as fast as a jet at 414 mph and up to 30 percent more fuel-efficient.
The Bombardier jet seats 70 passengers, and the Q-400 seats 76.
LYNDON, Kan.
Chewelah woman guilty in police chase
A Chewelah, Wash., woman accused of the hit-and-run deaths of two highway workers near Lawrence, Kan., has been convicted of leading police on a chase after the men were struck.
An Osage County District Court jury on Tuesday found Ramona I. Morgan, 48, of Chewelah, guilty of felony fleeing, reckless driving, failure to use turn signal and failure to maintain a single lane.
She was acquitted of two speeding counts.
Morgan, who remains in the Osage County Jail on $100,000 bond, will be sentenced on those charges May 20.
Morgan’s attorney, Billy Rork, told Judge Phillip Fromme that he would seek a new trial.
Morgan also faces reckless second-degree murder charges in Douglas County for the Sept. 11, 2007, hit-and-run deaths of Tyrone Korte, 30, of Seneca, and Rolland “Ron” Griffith, 24, of El Dorado. The two men were working on a road project on U.S. 59 near Pleasant Grove.
Shortly after the highway workers were hit, a truck matching the description of the one that left the scene was spotted in Osage County on U.S. 56.
A Kansas Highway Patrol trooper pursued the truck until officers used spikes to flatten the vehicle’s tires.
Morgan said she was afraid after visiting Lebanon, Mo., the day before and declining to buy a property there. She said she had been followed by people in vehicles who tried to run her off the road and shoot at her.
Morgan’s daughter, 26-year-old Sabrina Morgan, who was in the vehicle at the time, is not charged.