Teen kayaker’s body found in Lake Pend Oreille

The body of a 19-year-old kayaker has been found in Lake Pend Oreille after he went missing last week.

Rene F. Behrens-Spraggins was found in 17 feet of water about 450 yards offshore, said Bonner County Sheriff’s Lt. Gary Johnston. The body was recovered about 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Behrens-Spraggins went missing on May 28, officials said. The case remains under investigation.

From staff reports

Spokane

Police seek suspect in pharmacy robberies

Spokane police are looking for a man who may have used cosmetics to alter his appearance when he robbed two Spokane pharmacies of Oxycontin.

The same man is suspected in Wednesday’s robbery of the Rite Aid Pharmacy, 5520 N. Division Ave., and the May 28 robbery of the Altamont Pharmacy, 928 S. Perry St., according to police.

Wednesday’s robbery occurred shortly after midnight, and the suspect appeared to be wearing eyeliner and lipstick. The Altamont Pharmacy was robbed by a man with what witnesses described as a skull tattoo on the right side of his neck and appeared to have a weapon, police said.

The robber is described as a 6-foot-tall white man with a thin build. He was wearing a green, hooded sweatshirt, khaki shorts and sneakers.

Rite Aid is offering a reward for information leading to his capture. Anyone with information should call (509) 242-8477.

Meghann M. Cuniff

Bank robber sentenced again, to 67 years

A convicted bank robber likely will spend the rest of his life in prison.

Benjamin B. Brockie, 26, was sentenced to more than 67 years behind bars for robbing two Spokane-area banks in 2001. He was convicted of two counts of first-degree robbery, 15 counts of first-degree kidnapping and two counts of threats to bomb or injure property during a trial in 2003; his first trial ended in a hung jury in December 2002.

He was sentenced Monday in Spokane Superior Court after a state appeals court returned the case for resentencing. Under standard sentencing guidelines, Brockie could have been sentenced to serve more than 132 years in prison, but Judge Robert Austin sentenced him to 812 months.

Once said by police to be the “fast-food bandit” suspected in 13 restaurant robberies, Brockie was charged with robbing the Inland Northwest Bank at 1021 E. Hawthorne Road and the Safeway Federal Credit Union at 504 E. North Foothills Drive and kidnapping employees. He’s currently housed at Airway Heights Corrections Center.

From staff reports