In brief: Officials identify hit-and-run victim
The 19-year-old woman who died after being struck by a hit-and-run driver Friday in Spokane Valley was identified Monday as Ashley M. Jennings.
The Spokane County medical examiner’s office released the woman’s name after an autopsy Monday morning.
Police said Jennings was injured early Friday and died at a Spokane hospital. Her 22-year-old male companion was hospitalized in satisfactory condition with two broken legs and other injuries.
The two were walking in a road in Spokane Valley when they were hit by a 1979 Chrysler Cordoba about 3 a.m. Friday.
Alex C. Walker, 19, was booked into Spokane County Jail on two counts each of vehicular assault and hit-and-run in an injury accident. Walker turned himself in to Spokane Valley police about 45 minutes after the accident.
Police dog dies after brain surgery
A Spokane police K-9 awarded a Purple Heart for taking two bullets died Sunday morning of complications from surgery to remove a brain tumor.
Var, a 10-year-old German shepherd, served the department for more than eight years. He retired this year after chasing down and being shot twice by a man fleeing from police March 17.
Var’s handler, Officer Dan Lesser, shot and killed the suspect, 22-year-old Johnnie L. Longest III.
A tumor was discovered after Var began having seizures, police spokeswoman Officer Jennifer DeRuwe said. Officers raised money to help Lesser pay for the surgery, DeRuwe said.
Cigarette starts Tubbs Hill fire
A cigarette butt ignited a small brush fire on the north side of Tubbs Hill in Coeur d’Alene on Monday.
Firefighters responded and extinguished the blaze quickly, but officials are worried about higher fire risks with July Fourth approaching, rising temperatures and below-normal precipitation.
Fireworks are prohibited from all city parks and property in Coeur d’Alene, including Tubbs Hill, city beaches and docks. Only “safe and sane” fireworks, available for purchase inside the city limits, are legal to use on private property, fire officials said.
The Coeur d’Alene Fire and Police departments will place additional patrols around Tubbs Hill this weekend.
Dozens arrested during DUI patrol
More than 30 people were arrested on suspicion of drunken driving over the weekend during a Hoopfest emphasis patrol involving multiple law enforcement agencies.
The Mobile Impaired Driving Unit took drunken driving suspects to a central location for processing, allowing law enforcement to return to the streets more quickly.
This year, 31 people were arrested. Last year, 21 DUI suspects were arrested using the same strategy.
Sex offenders move to area
Two Level III sex offenders have moved to the Spokane area.
James McMurtrey, 20, is living in the 1500 block of North Adams Street, said Spokane police Detective Curtis Kendall. McMurtrey was convicted of indecent liberties involving a 5-year-old girl in 2003.
Warren Plowden, 42, is living in the 5000 block of East Trent Avenue, Kendall said. Plowden was convicted of second-degree rape involving a 17-year-old girl in 1992.
Manilow concert canceled again
The Oct. 23 Barry Manilow concert at the Spokane Arena has been canceled – this time, for good.
Promoters gave a “scheduling conflict” as the reason for the cancellation.
This is the second time the concert has been scrapped. The concert was originally scheduled for March 15 but postponed until October because of what promoters called the need for “additional rehearsal” in Manilow’s Las Vegas show.
Tickets purchased via phone or online through TicketsWest will be automatically refunded to the credit card used in the purchase.
Refunds for tickets bought in person are available by taking the tickets to the Spokane Arena box office, 720 W. Mallon Ave., or mailing them to P.O. Box 6459, Spokane, WA 99217.
Police say suspects killed wrong man
Grant County resident Juan “Pookie” Vasquez was shot to death after his alleged killers mistook him for a person who stole a small baggie of marijuana, authorities said Monday.
Cesar Ismael Ramos DeLaCruz, 27, and Frankie Mahto Larioz, 19, both of Moses Lake, have been arrested in the June 16 murder of 19-year-old Vasquez. Each faces a first-degree murder charge.
Vasquez was shot in the back in a residential area near the Grant County airport, said Grant County Undersheriff John Turley.
Today is deadline to seek scholarships
Today is the deadline for eighth- and ninth-grade graduates to sign up for the College Bound Scholarship.
Students who enroll for the scholarship promise to graduate from high school, be good citizens and stay crime-free, said Terren Roloff, Spokane Public Schools spokeswoman. “The scholarship targets those seventh- and eighth-grade students (and ninth-graders this year only) whose family income meets eligibility requirements – similar to free and reduced-price meal requirements – or who are foster youth.”
Students can sign up at www.hecb.wa. gov/collegebound. For more information, call (888) 535-0747.
Murray aide named to run farm agency
Judith Olson has been appointed state executive director for the Farm Service Agency, overseeing the federal government’s financial programs that benefit farmers including low-cost loans and crop subsidies.
She had been the Eastern Washington director for U.S. Sen. Patty Murray since 1997.
Olson’s appointment by the Obama administration was announced Monday. She has worked on her family farm since 1976 and once served as president of the Washington Association of Wheat Growers.