Region brief: Train, car-crash victims identified
The Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office has identified two victims killed in separate incidents this week.
The man struck by a train Tuesday on the BNSF Railway line near Park Road and Trent Avenue has been identified as Joseph Lamere, 38.
Sgt. Dave Reagan, Spokane County Sheriff’s Office spokesman, said Lamere was carrying a grocery bag containing beer when he was struck by a westbound freight train.
Roy Foust, 35, of Newman Lake, was killed Sunday after a two-car crash near Wellesley Avenue and Murray Road. Foust was speeding and collided with a left-turning vehicle as he attempted to pass, Reagan said. Foust was ejected from his Jeep as it rolled down an embankment.
Man sentenced in failed robbery
A convicted sex offender whose armed robbery attempt in 2008 was thwarted by his intended victim has been sentenced in federal court to 10 years in prison.
Frank Bradley Molesky Jr., 56, who has no known address, pleaded guilty earlier this year to possession of a stolen firearm in connection to a May 3, 2008, incident in Airway Heights.
Molesky attempted to rob a man who was sitting on his porch. But the victim wrestled the gun away from Molesky and detained him until law enforcement arrived.
Molesky, who was previously convicted of three counts of child molestation, used a stolen .22-caliber rifle in the failed heist, which was the basis of his federal charge and conviction, according to a news release by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Rice.
Chase council seeks members
The Chase Youth Commission’s Teen Advisory Council is seeking new members for the current school year.
Members of the teen council work with the Chase Youth Commission to implement projects of interest to Spokane area youth, such as the annual Chase Youth Awards.
Applications are available online at www.chaseyouth.org, through Michael LeaderCharge at mleadercharge@ spokanecity.org, or by calling (509) 625-6440.
Meth distribution yields prison term
A Cheney man has been sentenced to serve more than 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of distributing methamphetamine.
Thomas L. Roullier, 29, was also determined to be a career offender based on two previous drug-related felony convictions, according to a news release from the Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Rice.
Roullier was arrested after an investigation by the Spokane Violent Crime Gang Enforcement Team, which includes officers from several local and federal agencies, Rice said.
UW gets money for ocean observatory
SEATTLE – The University of Washington has received about $126 million in federal money to build an observatory in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Washington and Oregon.
The vast network of fiber-optic and power cables and stations will relay continuous scientific data and video images from the depths of the sea floor via the Internet. University officials said it’ll let researchers monitor ocean currents, volcanic activity, water chemistry and other processes in real time.
The National Science Foundation announced the UW grant Wednesday as part of $385 million to the Ocean Observatories Initiative.