In brief: Man gets life sentence for murder
A Stevens County man who murdered the person he was already accused of assaulting will spend the rest of his life in prison under a sentence imposed Wednesday.
A jury convicted Christopher H. Devlin, 57, of aggravated first-degree murder last month for the May 2008 slaying of Daniel Heily, who was shot to death a day before he was to testify against Devlin in an assault case.
But the jury ruled Devlin was not armed with a firearm – a contradiction that Spokane County Superior Judge Jerome Leveque said may affect the case upon appeal.
“Whether or not the verdict is going to survive challenges, I don’t know,” Leveque said. Defense lawyer Mark Vovos said Wednesday that he intends to appeal.
Heily’s family spoke at the sentencing, calling Devlin a “psychopath,” “thug,” “despicable individual” and “tyrannical plague.”
Devlin had no prior criminal record. His only possible sentence was life without parole.
Bicycle riders are expected to converge Saturday at noon in Coeur d’Alene to celebrate the creation of a newly striped bicycle route on 15th Street from the Centennial Trail on East Mullan Avenue to north of Cherry Hill Park.
Riders will assemble at the Coeur d’Alene Library parking lot to begin the ride and then go to Cherry Hill Park to meet members of the North Idaho BMX Association.
The city council recently approved the striping and creation of a class-II bicycle route on 15th Street, city officials said.
For more information, contact Monte McCully, trails coordinator at (208) 292-5766.
Police say teen built explosive device
A 17-year-old Post Falls boy is responsible for a homemade explosive that locked down Coeur d’Alene High School last week, police said Thursday.
Another 17-year-old boy drove the suspect to the campus on Sept. 8. The boy who made the explosive reportedly told police he’d made the device “to watch it explode,” according to a news release.
The driver did not ignite the explosive but knew his friend planned to do so, police said.
A custodian reported hearing an explosion about 7:39 p.m. on Sept. 8; the device was discovered the next morning near the football field.
The boy who ignited the device faces a felony charge of unlawful use of a destructive device. The other boy could be charged with being an accessory.
The teens’ parents were told of the possible charges, police said. Neither boy was arrested; Kootenai County prosecutors will review the case and make a formal charging decision.
School Resource Officer Steve Harris identified the boy who ignited the device through an anonymous tip last week. Police say the boy confessed.
Two men assaulted another man in downtown Coeur d’Alene last month, and police are asking for help identifying them.
The victim, Nicholas Casqueiro, declined medical attention after the Aug. 22 assault outside the Pita Pit, 320 E. Sherman Ave., but his mother called police a few days later and said he’d suffered “extensive injuries to his face and mouth,” police said Thursday.
Police released surveillance photos showing two men attacking Casqueiro about 12:24 a.m. as he sat with a woman in the restaurant’s outdoor area.
Witnesses said the fight appears to have started when the woman said something to the men as they walked by. One man hit Casqueiro in the face with a chair; another kicked him after he fell to the ground. A third possible suspect was pictured sitting near Casqueiro.
View the photos at www.spokesman.com/blogs/sirens.
Anyone with information on the men’s identities is asked to call police at (208)769-2320.
BOISE – Officials in Idaho County want Gov. Butch Otter to declare an ongoing disaster that will allow wolves to be shot on sight, citing attacks on livestock and wildlife.
County commissioners declared a local disaster Thursday. The governor’s office was aware of the county’s move but had not seen it and couldn’t immediately comment, said Otter spokesman Jon Hanian.
“We heard about it just at the close of business today,” Hanian said. “Beyond that, I don’t have a comment about it, until we’ve had a chance to read it, review it and make sure the governor has seen it.”
CRATER LAKE NATIONAL PARK, Ore. – A car with a dog inside tumbled 1,100 feet into Oregon’s Crater Lake, but the dog was able to jump from the vehicle with only minor injuries.
Crater Lake National Park officials said it’s apparently the first time a car has landed in the lake.
A park news release says a couple from Ashland, Oregon, had stopped Saturday evening at a scenic overlook. But the emergency brake on their 1993 Volkswagen Passat apparently wasn’t set, and the car rolled backward and over the rim high above the lake.
Park spokeswoman Marsha McCabe said the dog apparently jumped out the sunroof and scrambled up the steep slope to rejoin her owners.