In brief: Man, teen face charges after chase
An alleged assault, which Post Falls police believe began after the suspects stopped their SUV so one of them could vomit, resulted in one suspect being Tasered after a foot chase early Wednesday.
Rocky Laurence, 22, a 17-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl, all from Montana, stopped their gold Chevy Tahoe in the 3800 block of Chukar Loop about 12:30 a.m. after one of them reported feeling ill, according to police.
A resident of a nearby apartment complex approached them, and Laurence and the 17-year-old began arguing with him, said police Lt. Greg McLean. One of the SUV’s occupants displayed a silver handgun and made threatening gestures, and the three left in the Tahoe, McLean said.
When police caught up with the SUV in a subdivision off Pleasantview Road, Laurence and the 17-year-old ran away. Laurence was Tasered and taken into custody.
The 17-year-old continued fleeing but surrendered after police set up a perimeter and a K-9 unit showed up, according to police. The 16-year-old was not charged and was released to her grandmother, who lives in Post Falls. A marijuana pipe was found in the vehicle, McLean said.
Laurence and the 17-year-old face obstructing an officer and aggravated assault charges.
Spokane
Police seek suspect in assault, car fire
Spokane police searched Wednesday for a man they believe set fire to a car.
Eddie Darnell Brown, 36, is also sought for an Oct. 7 assault in which witnesses said he used a pistol to beat his girlfriend over the head. She suffered a concussion and cuts that required stitches, according to a press release.
Police responded to a car fire about 12:30 a.m. Wednesday in the 1100 block of West Augusta Avenue, Officer Teresa Fuller said in a press release. The car’s owner is the former girlfriend Brown allegedly beat.
The fire was out by the time crews arrived, and no one was injured, Fuller said.
Brown is described as black, 5-foot-8, 170 pounds with brown eyes and black hair. He was last seen Wednesday morning wearing a black beanie cap, long black leather coat and jeans, Fuller said.
Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or (509) 242-TIPS.
Pullman
Water samples show no contamination
Samples of Pullman’s water showed no contamination following a cross-connection between the city’s water system and its wastewater treatment plant, according to a news release from the city.
The connection occurred Tuesday about 1 p.m. and lasted about an hour.
City crews began flushing and increasing chlorination to the water system in the area of the wastewater treatment plant, 1025 NW Guy St.
The city said the chance of contamination was “highly unlikely.” The state Department of Heath said boiling water was never necessary, according to a news release.
Boise
Lawmakers roll out transportation proposals
A day after Idaho Gov. Butch Otter unveiled his transportation funding package, including a hefty vehicle registration fee increase, House members introduced several proposals in a hastily called committee meeting.
One would place new limits on the “Connecting Idaho” highway bonding program; another would divert $22 million in existing sales tax revenues into the state highway account; and a third calls for a performance audit of how the Idaho Transportation Department does business with consultants and contractors.
The House Ways and Means Committee then scheduled a meeting to introduce two new vehicle registration fee bills calling for much more modest fee increases than those Otter proposed. But just before it was to happen, the meeting was canceled.
Senate Transportation Chairman John McGee, R-Caldwell, said, “I’m just wondering why they weren’t ready yesterday, but suddenly they popped up this morning in an emergency meeting. The question is, are we trying to solve a problem, or are we trying to score political points?”
Otter’s plan would more than double Idaho’s vehicle registration fees to raise money for roads, upping them to a flat $150 regardless of the age of the car, plus local surcharges.