Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Threats against judge investigated

Police are investigating death threats made against a Spokane Superior Court judge.

A relative of Judge Sam Cozza who shares his last name received a phone call about 10:55 p.m. Nov. 28 in which a male voice asked if the judge was there. The called then said, “You just let him know that I’m gonna kill him. He’s gonna die tonight,” according to a search warrant filed this week.

The same man called the next day about 9:30 a.m. and asked if the judge was dead yet, then called twice within the next 20 minutes and repeated the death threat, according to the warrant.

Detective Paul Lebsock submitted the warrant to Comcast last week seeking the call history for the phone number that received the threatening calls. Caller ID showed the calls came from a private number.

Cozza oversees criminal trials and divorce hearings.

Pharmacy robbed of OxyContin

A man robbed a pharmacy of OxyContin at gunpoint Monday night.

Two employees at Walgreens at 7905 N. Division St. were forced to the ground when a man with a black semi-automatic pistol entered the store about 9:25 p.m. and demanded bottles of the powerful prescription painkiller, according to the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office.

He ordered a male employee to hang up the phone, then pointed the gun at a female employee and asked for more drugs after she handed him some.

The robber was described as a heavyset white man in his 20s, unshaven, “very polite” and wearing black gloves and a black hooded sweatshirt under a green-and-white plaid insulated shirt, according to the Sheriff’s Office. No getaway vehicle was seen.

It was the third pharmacy robbery in two weeks, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Anyone with information on the robberies is asked to call (509) 242-TIPS.

Early fire drives family from home

A family and their dog were burned out of a south Spokane home early Tuesday morning after an apparent problem with electrical wiring in the attic sparked a blaze.

An adult at the home at 1031 E. 34th Ave. was awakened by the smell of smoke about 4:15 a.m. and got the other occupants out safely.

A smoke detector in the house failed to go off, firefighters said.

The damage was confined to the ceiling framework and electrical wiring, but firefighters had to remove ceiling material to get at the fire. The damage was estimated at $40,000, and firefighters said the house could not be occupied until repairs are made. An investigation was expected to determine whether the wiring malfunctioned or was overloaded.

Spokane Valley

Cops say argument led to stabbings

An argument over parenting skills led to the stabbing of two people early Sunday, according to the Spokane Valley Police Department.

Officers arrested Shelly R. Jones, 28, after they found her screaming that she’d stabbed two people when they arrived at an apartment in the 700 block of North Argonne Avenue about 4:30 a.m., according to police.

Jones’ three children were sent to their father’s home in Plummer, Idaho, and Jones was sent to the Geiger Corrections Center on two charges of second-degree assault after police determined she’d stabbed two women, 37 and 31, with a metal can opener during an argument over Jones’ parenting skills, police said.

Cocaine and alcohol were believed to be factors, police said.

From staff reports