In brief: Four repeals before tax panel

Idaho’s House tax committee agreed Monday to consider four bills repealing existing tax breaks, part of a long-stalled proposal from an interim legislative committee to review Idaho’s tax exemptions.

House Revenue and Taxation Committee Chairman Dennis Lake, R-Blackfoot, persuaded his committee to introduce the bills, which would repeal a corporate headquarters incentive, a broadband investment tax credit, a break for broadcasting equipment and a tax credit for research and development.

Lake said new tax breaks – including a major incentive bill that’s sailing through the Legislature to try to entice a French company to locate a uranium enrichment plant in eastern Idaho and a proposal to eliminate the personal property tax on business equipment, and give businesses a $100 million-plus annual property tax break – duplicate the old ones.

“Other legislation that has proceeded in this session … does some of the same things for large companies that want to come to the state,” Lake said.

Lake’s four bills will be scheduled for hearings.

Spokane

Sex offender moves to 29th Avenue

A level 3 sex offender has moved into the 3100 block of East 29th Avenue in Spokane, police said.

Mario G. Cabrera, 49, was convicted of first-degree rape involving a woman he knew, said Spokane police Officer Jennifer DeRuwe. Cabrera also has been convicted of three counts indecent exposure.

Cabrera refused sex offender treatment in prison and is not under supervision, DeRuwe said. The police Sexual Exploitation Unit is available to help community members set up block watches and provide information on personal safety.

Crime Stoppers offers reward

Crime Stoppers is offering a reward for information leading to the arrest of a man wanted for drug possession and escape.

Nicholas J. Kloepfel, 24, has previous convictions for first-degree robbery, third-degree assault on law enforcement and malicious mischief, said Sgt. Dave Reagan, spokesman for the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office.

Anyone with information on Kloepfel’s whereabouts is asked to call (800) 222-8477. Tipsters do not have to leave their name to collect a reward, but should provide a code name or number.

Stevens County, Wash.

Three men injured in car accident

Three young men were injured Sunday night in a crash in which the Washington State Patrol said alcohol was a factor.

Matthew L. Zerba, 21, was driving a 1999 Toyota pickup north on State Route 25 in Stevens County when the truck went off the road and rolled, according to a press release.

Zerba was ejected. He was transported to Mt. Carmel Hospital in Colville, along with passengers Zairn J. Wooley, 18, and Michael L. Taylor, 22, according to the State Patrol.

Wooley was wearing a seat belt, but Zerba and Taylor were not, according to the report.

Woman ejected during car crash

Washington State Patrol troopers responded at 9:25 p.m. Sunday to report of a car striking a pedestrian on State Route 291 about 13 miles north of Spokane.

But when troopers arrived, they found a woman, who was complaining of a broken leg, and a man outside the crashed vehicle.

Then things got complicated.

It turns out the woman was the driver’s wife, and she apparently was ejected from the vehicle during the crash. She was transported to a hospital for her injured leg, which was not broken, said Trooper Mark Baker.

Troopers questioned the couple, both of whom were intoxicated, but neither would say who was driving.

“Both were placed under arrest for DUI, and that investigation is being conducted to see who was driving,” Baker said.

Because the state patrol has not charged the couple, it did not identify them.

Coeur d’Alene

Weather delays Tubbs Hill burn

Wet weather is preventing a prescribed burn planned for Tubbs Hill this week.

The Coeur d’Alene Fire Department planned to close the popular lakefront park for a day while firefighters torched about 60 acres. The department will reschedule the burn when the weather clears and provide the public with 24-hour notice.

The controlled burn will rid the hill of dead wood that could serve as fuel for forest fires, the department said.

Region

Summer camp guide submissions needed

Summer will be here before you know it, and The Spokesman-Review is beginning to plan its annual summer camp guide, which will be published April 16.

If you have a camp that you would like to have listed in this publication, send the information to summercamps@spokesman .com; fax to (509) 459-5098; or mail to Summer Camp Guide, The Spokesman-Review, 999 W. Riverside Ave., Spokane WA 99201.

Please include a description of the camp, location, dates, times, recommended ages, cost and contact information. Submissions must be received by the end of business Friday.

If you have any questions, call (509) 459-5485.

RUIDOSO DOWNS, N.M.

Fugitive sought in police shooting

State police on Monday obtained an arrest warrant for a Washington state fugitive under investigation in the shooting of a Lincoln County sheriff’s sergeant.

The warrant accuses Kurt Sohrbeck, 53, of attempted murder, aggravated fleeing from law enforcement, being a felon in possession of a firearm and tampering with evidence in the shooting of Sgt. Robert Shepperd.

Shepperd was shot March 13 in the head, upper chest and left arm after pursuing Sohrbeck through the back roads of this southeastern New Mexico village. Shepperd was in stable condition Monday at a hospital in El Paso, Texas.

Authorities describe Sohrbeck as a career criminal and con artist with a record in 11 states, including pending charges for assault and eluding police in Whatcom County, Wash. He also is wanted by Washington state authorities in several cases of identity theft.

According to a criminal complaint, Shepperd stopped to talk with Sohrbeck at a car lot in Ruidoso Downs. After being asked for his identification, Sohrbeck fled in a black pickup truck.

The complaint states that Sohrbeck eventually stopped, got out of the truck and charged Shepperd’s police car with a revolver. Shepperd told investigators he remembered putting the car in reverse and being shot four times. He was found in his car, which was off the roadway with its lights and sirens on.

A $10,000 reward is being offered for information leading to Sohrbeck’s arrest.

From staff and wire reports