NW today: Kid fight video leads to arrests
What’s news in the Northwest today:
PORTLAND, Ore. — The disturbing video of two 9-year-olds fighting — egged on by parents — led to the arrest of four adults in McMinnville. KATU reports someone in Pennsylvania saw the video on a Facebook page and called police. Capt. Dennis Marks says the fight ended when one of the boys had a bloody nose. Investigators found filthy homes, drug paraphernalia and not enough food for the children. When the parents were jailed the children were placed with relatives.
FBI seeks Oregon bank manager in fraud investigation
COOS BAY, Ore. — The FBI is looking for a former bank manager in Coos Bay suspected of taking up to $1.2 million from customers. The World newspaper in Coos Bay reported that FBI agents and police raided the home of Shawna Saia last Thursday as part of an investigation into charges she stole from accounts at a Wells Fargo Bank branch in Coos Bay. FBI Special Agent Jason Cherry said in court documents that Saia worked at Wells Fargo from August 2006 until last August, rising to assistant store manager. She was fired when Wells Fargo discovered she had opened bank accounts for customers without their knowledge in order to obtain commissions for the new accounts, leading to an investigation.
High court turns down Patriot Act challenger
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is refusing to take up a constitutional challenge to provisions of the Patriot Act from a lawyer who was once wrongly suspected in deadly terrorist bombings in Spain. The justices today turned down an appeal from Brandon Mayfield, the Oregon lawyer who was arrested by federal agents after they mistakenly matched him to a fingerprint from the train bombings in Madrid in 2004. It turned out the fingerprint didn’t belong to Mayfield, who got an apology and $2 million from the federal government. But a federal appeals court blocked Mayfield’s challenge to the Patriot Act, the post-9/11 law that was used to arrest him. The high court left the appeals court ruling in place.
Injured Montana soldier being treated in Texas
BUTTE, Mont. — A Montana native who lost both legs and his right arm while serving in Afghanistan is receiving treatment at an Army hospital in Texas. J.D. Williams of Harrison stepped on a land mine while on patrol in early October. Doctors in Germany performed the amputations. Harrison arrived at the Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio on Oct. 15 and has had four additional operations. Williams parents, wife and 11-month-old daughter have also been on base since mid-October.
Dog killed by Seattle marina poison set for otters
SEATTLE — A Seattle couple say their dog was killed by eating strychnine-laced pet food that was left out at the Elliott Bay Marina, apparently to kill river otters. The couple, Glenn Bonci and Joan Ronnenkamp, told The Seattle Times that tests at the Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine in Pullman confirmed their dog “Teddi” was poisoned. They saw their dog eat some canned cat food that was in front of a boat when they went for a walk last month at the marina. Their dog soon went into a seizure and died. Marina manager Dwight Jones says the poison may have been left out to kill otters that climb on boats and defecate.
3 family members killed in I-182 rollover
KENNEWICK, Wash. — A 10-year-old boy curled up on the side of Interstate 182 early Sunday after trying to get help for a crash that had killed his parents and younger cousin. Authorities don’t know how long the boy had been laying on the shoulder before a firefighter found him near some bushes, but the deadly rollover went unnoticed for about five hours until reports came in about a pedestrian in the area. A Washington State Patrol trooper found the wrecked 2001 GMC Yukon at 7:13 a.m. off the highway at the eastbound Interstate 82 on-ramp. The single-car crash is believed to have occurred at 2:20 a.m. Joel Barajas, 32, and Bertha A. Barajas, 28, along with their 8-year-old nephew, Cristian Valdez, were all pronounced dead at the scene. The couple’s three children all survived with minor to no injuries.