Region in brief: Man gets 8 years for child porn
A Coeur d’Alene man has been sentenced to eight years in federal prison for downloading Internet videos of children being sexually abused.
David R. Pierce, 62, also must serve 10 years of supervised release, including a requirement that he register as a sex offender, Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Moss said.
The sentence this week followed an investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who searched Pierce’s home in Coeur d’Alene. There the agents discovered that Pierce had visited Web sites containing child pornography and had downloaded videos showing illegal sexual behavior.
Moss said authorities will seek “long federal sentences for those who encourage the sexual exploitation of children by accessing and downloading child pornography.”
Pregnant woman gets prison time
A pregnant woman due in June will spend more than 2 1/2 years in prison for robbing a pharmacy last year.
Sunshine L. VanCleave, 35, pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery Wednesday for using a BB gun to rob the Bi Mart in Deer Park of the powerful painkiller OxyContin on Nov. 2, 2008. She’ll be on probation for 18 months when her sentence is complete.
Her accomplice, James C. Hutson, 24, received the same 31-month sentence in May.
After her arrest, VanCleave swallowed a handful of OxyContin and was treated at a local hospital, where she’s accused of trying to strangle a nurse with a phone cord.
VanCleave had no criminal history until her marriage fell apart a couple years ago and she started to “self-medicate” with OxyContin, her public defender said. VanCleave’s three children attended her sentencing and pleaded for leniency.
Three held after stabbings at club
An argument outside Uno Supper Club and Lounge in downtown Spokane early Wednesday erupted into a violent melee that sent two men to the hospital with knife wounds, police said.
John D. Proctor, 24, was booked into Spokane County Jail on one count of first-degree assault, a felony. Rakee D. Cage, 22, and Adam Doe, 18, were booked on misdemeanor assault charges.
Spokane police said the confrontation began as an argument between two groups of men on opposite sides of the street outside the club, 515 W. Sprague Ave.
A 22-year-old man was stabbed in the chest about 12:30 a.m., according to police. Bouncers at the club chased and tackled Proctor, police said.
Witnesses said several fights were going on at the same time. A 35-year-old man also was stabbed in the chest and taken to a downtown hospital. Both victims were treated for non-life-threatening wounds and released later. Police are asking anyone with information to call Crime Check at (509) 456-2233.