In brief: Gunman robs store of OxyContin
A masked gunman robbed a grocery store pharmacy of OxyContin about 9:15 a.m. Friday in Spokane Valley.
Employees at Albertsons, 8851 E. Trent Ave., said the man demanded the powerful prescription painkiller and kept his gun pointed at an employee as she placed the drugs inside a bag.
Police found clothes, gloves and a homemade mask in a dumpster at the West Valley School District administration building nearby.
The robber was described as a white man between 6 feet and 6-feet-4-inches tall, with a thin to medium build. He wore black running shoes with light-colored mesh on the front and held the gun, which resembled a semi-automatic Glock pistol, in his right hand.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Check at (509) 456-2233.
Paul endorses Didier for Senate
Former GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul endorsed Clint Didier for U.S. Senate in the upcoming Washington primary.
Paul, a Republican congressman from Texas who battled Sen. John McCain for the presidential nomination in 2008, called Didier a “dynamic leader who understands our Constitution and will fight against out-of-control government to restore our liberty.”
Didier is trying to knock off Sen. Patty Murray, a three-term incumbent Democrat, and must finish first or second in Washington’s Top Two primary on Aug. 17. With Murray likely to capture one spot, Didier will have to beat out the rest of a 15-candidate field that includes former state Sen. Dino Rossi.
Ambulance crews threaten strike
American Medical Response paramedics are warning the ambulance company’s management that they will strike Wednesday if their union contract has not been ratified.
But fire officials whose departments contract with AMR say service must be maintained. AMR has told Spokane Valley and Spokane fire departments that the company’s medically qualified members of management will step in if needed.
“The baseline of our contract with AMR is that they must maintain service,” said Spokane Fire Department Assistant Chief Brian Schaeffer, who emphasized that people will not receive less service.
It’s possible the backup plan will not be necessary. “I’m optimistic the parties will come to an agreement before the strike,” Schaeffer said.
AMR did not return a phone call for comment.
SWAT training team gets call
A Spokane police SWAT team in training got real-life experience Friday after a tip that a fugitive was in an east Spokane neighborhood.
But the search showed no sign of domestic violence suspect Pedro J. Garcia, who police believe may be armed, said Officer Glenn Bartlett.
“We had a SWAT team that was training anyway, so we called them out,” Bartlett said. “They were able to go and clear the area to verify that he was not there.”
In April, Garcia, 35, was reported to be suicidal when police arrived in the 2900 block of East Diamond to check on the safety of a woman there. But when a SWAT team entered the home after a four-hour standoff, Garcia wasn’t inside.
He is still being sought on charges of domestic violence, violating a protection order, burglary, unlawful imprisonment and harassment.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Check at (509) 456-2233.
Man charged with kidnapping child
A 22-year-old man is accused of holding a 2-year-old girl at knifepoint during a May confrontation with tribal police on the Spokane Indian reservation.
Samuel G. Laverdure appeared in U.S. District Court in Spokane on Thursday, where he’s charged with kidnapping. Investigators say he held a girl hostage after police were invited inside his trailer near Wellpinit regarding a domestic dispute on May 10.
Laverdure first gave a false name, but when police confronted him about an arrest warrant, he pulled a knife and grabbed the child. Police shocked him with a Taser after he charged at an officer with the girl.
Laverdure is a felon, with a conviction in 2005 for assault and obstructing a law enforcement officer. He’s being held without bail at the Spokane County Jail.
Prison possible in assault on trooper
An Idaho man faces six months in federal prison for allegedly beating a state trooper during a traffic stop that led to a fatal shooting.
Ricardo D. Rodriguez, 39, of Culdesac, appeared Friday in U.S. District Court in Coeur d’Alene. He’s been in federal custody since early this week.
A grand jury indicted him in May, one year after Idaho State Patrol Trooper Jeffory Talbott shot and killed Vern Ellenwood and injured Rodriguez.
The men attacked Talbott after fleeing a traffic stop on May 18, 2009, on the Nez Perce Indian Reservation, according to the FBI.
Rodriguez was a passenger in Ellenwood’s truck. Talbott was cleared of wrongdoing.