Police seek user of stolen gift card

Authorities are seeking help in identifying a woman who might have information about a beating and robbery last summer.

The woman used a Target gift card a day after it was stolen from the victim, said Spokane County sheriff’s Sgt. Dave Reagan.

The woman sought by police was captured on surveillance Aug. 18 as she left the Target store.

On Aug. 17, police say, the 41-year-old victim was walking home about 11 p.m. when she tripped and fell into the street near 13th Avenue and Bowdish Street. A car stopped, and three men approached the Spokane Valley resident and asked if she was OK.

When the woman told them she needed help, one of the men punched her in the face, Reagan said. The men stole her purse and hit her in the face with it.

The woman’s credit cards were used at an ATM and the Coeur d’Alene Casino, Reagan said.

Anyone with information about the woman or robbery is asked to call (509) 242-8477.

LIBERTY LAKE

Dye will be added to storm drains

Water in the northwest part of Liberty Lake might take on a yellow-green hue next week.

A dye is being added to storm drains to track whether runoff from streets is discharging into the lake’s west end. Studies have shown that pollution from streets can contribute as much as 80 percent of the pollution in lakes and streams.

At the low concentrations used, the dye is harmless to people and aquatic life, said Ted Hamlin, of the Washington Department of Ecology’s urban waters office.

Coulee City, Wash.

Four people may be charged in killing

Four people may face charges in connection with a Grant County homicide, sheriff’s officials said Thursday.

Jeff Alan Smith, 49, was found dead in his bed earlier this month, said Grant County Undersheriff John Turley.

On Oct. 10, a neighbor called 911 to report a fight at Smith’s home in Coulee City. Several people were seen beating Smith, who was highly intoxicated, Turley said.

The 911 operator asked a deputy to call the neighbor, who told the deputy the fight was over, and Smith had passed out.

A friend found Smith dead two days later, Turley said. The 49-year-old had died of blunt force trauma to the head.

Several people of interest and witnesses were interviewed, including those suspected of beating Smith. The Grant County prosecutor’s office will decide whether to file charges, Turley said.