In brief: Fourth person held in home invasion
Another suspect has been arrested in a violent home-invasion robbery two weeks ago.
Robert Andrew Wilson, 24, is in jail on $175,000 bail.
Spokane County sheriff’s detectives believe he used a crowbar to assault a man and woman in an apartment at 815 W. Bellwood Drive early March 31 before he and his accomplices stole electronics and other valuables. The victims were bound with zip ties, but one broke free and called 911.
Deputies arrested three suspects, Donald M. Holley, 20, Oshien R. Pendell, 30, and Megan N. Wilson, 19, the day of the robbery. Robert Wilson was booked into jail on Wednesday.
Two other suspects, including the ex-girlfriend of an apartment resident, have not been arrested.
Robert Wilson appeared in Superior Court Thursday on robbery, burglary, assault and unlawful imprisonment charges.
Man accused of false report in crash
Spokane police have arrested a man on charges that he fled a dramatic crash near Indian Trail Road on March 31, and then called in a false report to police.
Christopher L. Robinson was booked Thursday on charges of hit and run and false reporting stemming from the early morning accident at 4400 W. Strong Road that took out a utility pole and started a fire.
The accident cut power and cable television service to homes in the vicinity.
Police were unable to find the driver, who fled the scene. Robinson, the registered owner, called police the next morning and reported that the vehicle had been stolen.
Officer Christopher Bode, who responded to the crash, did some follow-up work on his off-hours. He contacted a witness, who had given the vehicle driver a ride from the scene. The witness has identified the driver as Robinson, police said.
Robinson is out of jail on $750 bond.
Extra patrols targeting speeders
Washington law enforcement agencies on Friday launched a crackdown on speeding, with extra patrols being deployed by 153 agencies across the state.
The Washington Traffic Safety Commission is sponsoring the effort, which it calls “Slow down or pay up.”
The commission said 40 percent of all traffic deaths are related to speeding.
The patrols will run through May 1, on Fridays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 8 p.m.
Commission Director Lowell Porter said the speeding enforcement campaign is part of the state’s commitment to eliminate traffic deaths by 2030.
Driver in WSU incident to be released
COLFAX – A Moscow, Idaho, man accused of injuring two Washington State University students in a December hit-and-run is expected to be released from jail on a $250,000 bond.
Daniel Noble has pleaded not guilty to two felony counts of vehicular assault, two felony counts of hit and run and misdemeanor resisting arrest.
The Lewiston Tribune reported Superior Court Judge David Frazier agreed Friday to release Noble on bond and set a May 5 hearing to consider a motion from the defense that seeks acquittal on the charges.
Noble’s attorney, Mark Moorer, has previously told the court his client was suffering from caffeine-induced psychosis brought on by energy drinks and too much coffee.
E. coli at day care center kills child
VANCOUVER, Wash. – A recent outbreak of E. coli at a day care center has killed one child and sickened three other children, health officials said Friday.
The child who died was a 4-year-old boy, said Elizabeth Winter of the Washington state Department of Early Learning. The department was notified of his death on Friday, she said.
The first child was hospitalized on March 19 after being struck by the E. coli O157:H7 bacteria, said Dr. Alan Melnick, the health officer for Clark County. The other three children were hospitalized soon afterward, he said.
County public health officials temporarily closed the home-based, licensed day care center on April 2.
Health officials said they don’t know the precise source of the outbreak. But they said it didn’t appear related to food, water or another single source.