In brief: Burglars smash into businesses

Burglars used stolen vehicles to smash their way into two Spokane businesses Monday.

Broken automobile parts were found inside the entry of Pounders Jewelry, 3131 N. Division St., where the culprits smashed through plate glass and into the front of the store at 6:10 a.m., police said.

At 6:35 a.m., another burglary was reported at Pawn 1, 3705 N. Market St., in which a vehicle was used to smash into the front of the store. A passer-by saw two men loading items into a vehicle at the front of the store. Police are investigating a possible link between the crimes, Officer Tim Moses said.

Ex-councilman to serve probation

A former Liberty Lake City Council member will spend two years on probation for assaulting his wife.

Brian A. Sayrs pleaded guilty to fourth-degree assault Friday in Spokane County District Court. Sayrs was originally charged with felony second-degree assault after his wife, Michelle Messer, told police in August that he’d assaulted her at their Liberty Lake home five months earlier.

Sayrs had served on the council since Liberty Lake was formed in 2001 and was mayor pro tem when he resigned April 14. Messer said she and Sayrs were arguing March 25 when he ripped a phone out of her hands, then blocked her from leaving the room before hurling a dinner plate at her head, according to court documents.

Three arrested in robbery at stand

Three Coeur d’Alene men are accused of robbing a coffee stand about a block from where they were arrested.

Charles E. Spencer, 24; Arthur William Wilson, 18; and Andrew Wayne Bryant, 18, were arrested Sunday after police received an anonymous tip that led them to a home at 1015 Mill Ave.

That’s about a block from the Dutch Bros. Coffee at 1680 Northwest Blvd., which was robbed about 8:35 p.m. on Saturday.

Police haven’t said who they believe acted as the gunman. Spencer, Wilson and Bryant were due in Kootenai County District Court on Monday on robbery charges. Spencer also is charged with possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to jail records.

Erratic driver hits two WSU students

PULLMAN – One person was in custody after two Washington State University students were struck by a vehicle and hospitalized in separate incidents along Stadium Way on Monday morning.

The two male students suffered numerous injuries, but they did not appear to be life-threatening, WSU officials said.

The vehicle was reported driving erratically in the westbound lanes of state Route 270 between Moscow, Idaho, and Pullman shortly before entering campus, WSU police Chief Bill Gardner said.

The driver turned north on Stadium Way about 7:30 a.m., and struck the first student in a crosswalk near Gannon and Goldsworthy dorms, he said. The car continued, hitting the center median before striking a student on a sidewalk near Wegner Hall, Gardner said.

The vehicle stopped and the driver fled before being apprehended by campus police in the vicinity of McCoy Hall, Gardner said. The Moscow-Pullman Daily News reported officers had to use a Taser to subdue the suspect.

The identities of the injured students and the driver have not been released.

Humane Society director gains role

The executive director of the Kootenai Humane Society also will direct the Panhandle Animal Shelter in Sandpoint, the nonprofit organizations announced in a news release.

Phil Morgan, who has led the Kootenai Humane Society for three years, will split his time between the two shelters. Collaboration between the two organizations led to his assuming the Sandpoint post as well, the release said.

Panhandle Animal Shelter opened the doors to a new 27,000-square-foot building in November 2008, thanks to a donation from the Wild Rose Foundation, a nonprofit organization.

In 2008, more than 3,200 animals were rescued, adopted or returned to owners between the two organizations, the release said.

Parvovirus could have killed pups

Parvovirus may have been responsible for the deaths of six wolf pups found near a den on Forest Service land near Fairfield, Idaho.

The dead pups were found Aug. 21 by an Idaho Department of Fish and Game officer. A necropsy found no evidence of poison, gunshot wounds or other physical injury, officials said Monday.

Tissue samples tested positive for canine parvovirus, but the results were inconclusive. Other clinical signs of the virus, such as vomiting and diarrhea, were not found.

Parvovirus is highly contagious and can persist in a contaminated area for five months or more.