In brief: Meth distributor sentenced to 23 years
A Spokane Valley man will spend 23 years in prison for helping run a meth ring that distributed more than 33 pounds of the drug, the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Washington announced Wednesday.
Daniel A. Flaherty, 36, also will be on probation for 10 years after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in May.
The family-based drug trafficking organization operated out of the Tri-Cities and led investigators to more than 30 pounds of meth and $700,000. Federal agents found more than 4 pounds of meth in Flaherty’s storage unit in Spokane Valley in October 2008, according to court documents.
Flaherty will give up personal property and more than $23,000 seized from his bank account. He had a prior felony drug conviction that gave him a minimum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Store damaged when men try to steal ATM
A convenience store near Whitworth University was damaged early Wednesday by burglars who broke out the front doors and tried to yank out an ATM from inside the store.
Sheriff’s deputies said two men wearing masks used a white Infinity QX about 4 a.m. to break into the A-1 Gas & Grocery, 9914 N. Wall St. The thieves put a chain around the ATM and tried to yank it free, but they were unsuccessful.
A.J. Fingh, the store manager, said that the doors will cost at least $3,000 to replace and that there was other damage to the building.
Officials say heater started fire at home
A man awoke to find his bed and pant leg on fire after a heater ignited the bedding in his Post Falls mobile home, fire officials said.
Firefighters with Kootenai County Fire and Rescue were called to the Chateau Mobile Home Park at 1356 N. Highway 41 about 3:10 p.m. and found a single-wide trailer engulfed in flames.
The owner said he was asleep and woke up to find his bed and pants on fire. He escaped without injury and ran to a neighbor’s home to call 911.
The cause of the fire was a space heater placed too close to the bed, fire officials said.
The trailer, which was uninsured, was destroyed. The American Red Cross was assisting the residents displaced by the fire.
Spokane nonprofits receive Kresge grants
Catholic Charities of Spokane and the YMCA are among hundreds of organizations awarded grant money from a private foundation to provide relief to low-income communities struggling with the economic downturn.
The Kresge Foundation approved 208 awards in September totaling $43.7 million for nonprofit organizations in 26 states, the District of Columbia and South Africa. The specific amounts sent to the Spokane-area organizations was unavailable.
The 85-year-old private foundation, based in Troy, Mich., awarded $181 million worth of grants in 2008 to nonprofit organizations that support six areas of interest: health, the environment, community development, arts and culture, education and human services.