Region in brief: Wood stove blamed in blaze

Faulty installation of a new wood stove was the apparent cause of a fire that destroyed a West Plains mobile home Sunday, leaving a family of five homeless.

Fire District 10 Chief Nick Scharff said the family had stoked the stove to warm the home while they were at church.

By the time District 10 and District 3 units arrived at the Hideaway Mobile Home Park to respond to a 11:38 a.m. call, flames showed through the roof, Scharff said.

The home and most of the contents were a total loss, Scharff said, adding that wet surroundings helped contain the fire to the one unit in the park, located at 4300 S. Cheatham Road.

American Red Cross spokeswoman Pat Kondas said the family was receiving help from friends and other family members.

Man crashes into jail booking area

A 31-year-old man with mental health issues crashed his mother’s 2001 Lincoln Navigator into the Spokane County Jail on Sunday morning, Spokane police Officer Devin Presta said.

Dustin Leeds drove the vehicle through a parking lot on the west side of the jail, over a curb and around a concrete-and-chain barrier protecting an overhead door leading to the jail booking area. The door was down, but Leeds smashed through and into a wall.

Spokane County deputies took him into custody. Presta said Leeds was not injured, nor was anyone else in an area often crowded with deputies and suspects.

“We were lucky no one was there,” Presta said. “There’s no time to react.”

Leeds was booked for theft of a motor vehicle, first-degree malicious mischief and reckless endangerment.

Presta said Leeds’ mother told police he had not driven for several years.

Damage to the door will take $14,000 to repair, Presta said. There was minor damage to the vehicle.

Utility schedules power outage

Kootenai Electric Cooperative early today will cut power to some areas on both sides of the Spokane River in Coeur d’Alene and Post Falls.

The outage, expected to last four hours, will allow crews to retest equipment that proved faulty in a Nov. 4 check. The test is necessary to assure compliance with federal reliability standards.

Members who will be affected should receive a telephone call. Anyone who needs an uninterrupted supply of electricity for health care or other reasons should arrange backup generation.

For more information, call (208) 765-1200.

Pair arrested after robbery, chase

Kootenai County sheriff’s deputies arrested two robbery suspects Sunday after ramming their getaway vehicle, Capt. Ben Wolfinger said.

A deputy was on patrol at 5:30 p.m. when he saw two men wearing ski masks, one with a handgun, robbing the Dalton Market at 5632 N. 15th in Dalton Gardens, Wolfinger said. They left in a small SUV.

The deputy pursued their vehicle, which had been stolen two hours earlier. When the vehicle turned east on Dalton Avenue from 15th, Wolfinger said, the deputy rammed the car.

A second deputy was on the scene, and the suspects surrendered without further incident, he said. A handgun was recovered.

The suspects were taken to Kootenai Medical Center before being booked into jail, Wolfinger said. He said the market clerk and the few patrons in the store were not injured.

The deputy’s cruiser sustained about $2,000 in damage to the bumper and grill, he said.

Boy shoots bear on front porch

DRIGGS, Idaho – An 11-year-old boy shot a black bear on his family’s front porch after he said it wouldn’t leave.

The boy was at his home near Driggs, just west of the Idaho-Wyoming border, with his younger sisters Wednesday when the bear showed up.

When he couldn’t shoo the bear away, he got his gun and shot it, the boy said.

“We got multiple complaint calls,” said Idaho Fish and Game officer Lauren Wendt. “We don’t like to see them down this low. But it’s not uncommon.”

Fish and Game doesn’t plan on pursuing any claims against the boy or his family – and the agency issued them a permit to keep the bear.

Woman suspected in vaccine theft

OLYMPIA – An Ohio woman is under investigation in the theft of H1N1 influenza vaccine from a Thurston County hospice center.

Sheriff’s deputies say 37-year-old Alissa K. Yoder, of West Liberty, Ohio, took two vials of the vaccine from an unlocked medical refrigerator at Providence Sound HomeCare and Hospice. The vials each contained 10 doses.

Yoder had been hired as a contractor at the hospice. A detective said she was arrested Thursday after two other employees turned her in. It was not immediately known if she had an attorney.

The stolen vaccine has not been recovered.

Woman escapes kidnap attempt

CLACKAMAS, Ore. – A Beaverton, Ore., woman escaped with the help of a passer-by after her ex-boyfriend shot at her car along Interstate 205, kidnapped her and brought her to Washington state, sheriff’s deputies said Sunday.

The woman, Yesenia Vehar-Fombona, 26, showed up at the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office on Saturday afternoon to describe her ordeal, deputies said in a news release.

Her ex-boyfriend, identified as Jose Guadalupe Pinedaleon, has been arrested and is scheduled to be arraigned today on charges of attempted murder and kidnapping. It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney.