In brief: South Hill chase nets two suspects
A police chase across parts of South Hill on Thursday night netted two suspected auto thieves and sent the stolen vehicle careening into a utility pole.
The chase began about 8:30 p.m. after an officer checked the license plate of an Acura sedan and learned the vehicle had been reported stolen. The driver didn’t pull over for the officer and instead drove south on Ray Street to 37th Avenue, then back down Ray before crashing into a utility pole near the intersection of Thor Street and Hartson Avenue, Spokane police Sgt. Tracie Meidl said.
The pursuit started just south of 29th Avenue on Ray Steet and lasted a couple of minutes, Meidl said. Speeds reached more than 60 mph.
Two suspects in the car – a male and a female – were arrested and will face charges of attempting to elude police along with charges for the stolen vehicle, Meidl said.
$3,000 raised to help family
A fundraising potluck Wednesday to help a Spokane family whose baby is facing expensive surgery raised more than $3,000, organizers say.
Doctors believe that 9-month-old Luke Colin Mann has a tumor called a hamartoma, which likely is benign.
The family won’t know for sure until after surgery next week at Beth-Israel Medical Center in New York, said Amber Cleverly-Thomas, who organized the potluck.
Luke began having breathing problems shortly after he was born in April, Cleverly-Thomas said.
The tumor is displacing arteries and nerves in the baby’s face and neck.
Although the family is insured, the policy will cover only 80 percent of the medical costs and won’t cover living expenses in New York City.
The family must stay in the city for a month following the procedure, Cleverly-Thomas said.
Donations to the family can be made in Luke Mann’s name at U.S. Bank branches.
SEATTLE
Guilty plea in ‘Strippergate’
Strip-club owner Frank Colacurcio Jr. pleaded guilty Thursday to felony criminal charges in Seattle’s “Strippergate” campaign-finance scandal.
Colacurcio, 46, will pay a $10,000 fine and serve a year of probation under the plea deal. His 90-year-old father, Frank Colacurcio Sr., is expected to take an identical deal Monday.
Those penalties are in addition to a $55,000 civil settlement approved Wednesday by the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission, in which the Colacurcios admitted flouting campaign-contribution limits by reimbursing at least 15 donors for contributions made to the re-election campaigns of Seattle City Council members in 2003.
The $39,000 in illegal donations came as the council was considering whether to approve a parking lot expansion for Rick’s, the Colacurcios’ strip club in the Lake City neighborhood.
From staff and wire reports