In brief: Woman found dead in Spokane jail cell

A 30-year-old woman was found dead Monday in her cell at the Spokane County Jail.

Corrections deputies found the woman while making regularly scheduled cell checks just after midnight.

Deputies shocked the woman once with an automated external defibrillator while performing CPR until medics arrived.

The woman, who was in a cell by herself, was pronounced dead at a local hospital. Investigators do not believe the death is suspicious.

The woman’s identity will be released after an autopsy today by the Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Suspect had weapon, victim’s obit in truck

Detectives found a newspaper containing homicide victim Kimberly Rae Schmidt’s obituary when they searched the truck of her suspected killer recently.

Daniel R. Arteaga, 40, had the obituary in his GMC truck, along with a .45 caliber handgun in a fanny pack, cartridges and magazines, DVDs, a notebook and earrings.

Detectives seized those items Aug. 7 after Arteaga was arrested for first-degree murder. They also seized nearly 100 items from his home at 19329 E. Valleyway in Spokane Valley.

Among the items found at Arteaga’s home were notebooks and at least 29 firearms, including shotguns, rifles and pistols. Arteaga has a concealed weapons permit.

He remains in jail on $1 million bond on a charge of first-degree murder. He’s accused of killing Schmidt, who was found dead of a gunshot wound to her head at her home in north Spokane on Jan. 1.

Arteaga told detectives that his wife of 22 years didn’t know he’d been having an affair with Schmidt for about 6 1/2 years.

Detectives believe Schmidt’s desire to end their relationship and the money he owed her may have been factors in the slaying.

Schmidt and Arteaga also were named in two lawsuits, and Schmidt had told Arteaga she was romantically involved with another man.

Police say men aimed guns at woman

Two men were arrested on felony assault charges after witnesses told police they pointed guns at a woman sitting in a car near a Spokane Valley bar early Sunday.

Charles Willy Jackson, 25, and Anttwon D. Scurlock, 21, are accused of confronting the 27-year-old woman across the street from Goodtymes Pub, 9124 E. Mission Ave., about 12:16 a.m.

Police reported that the woman told them she recognized Jackson when he confronted her and was able to identify Scurlock after he was arrested.

A Washington State Patrol trooper contacted Scurlock in front of the Holiday Inn Express. The trooper located a black handgun near him and seized it as evidence.

Jackson also was arrested near the scene. The men were booked into jail for first-degree assault. Police did not indicate a motive in court documents.

Jackson was arrested in May 2010 for a November 2009 incident in which he was accused of shooting out the back window of an SUV. He was ordered to spend two months in jail after pleading guilty in September 2010 to second-degree malicious mischief and possession of a controlled substance.

Trail to be open during sealing work

From now until Sept. 7, people using the Centennial Trail in North Idaho are likely to find work crews seal-coating it.

The trail will be usable the entire time, with spotters in front and back of construction crews, a news release from the city of Coeur d’Alene said. When users encounter the work crews, they will have to use the shoulder.

Seal-coating takes about two hours to dry, so the trail will be usable soon after crews pass through. The contractor will complete about one mile of trail per day, the release said.

The schedule is as follows:

• Seal-coating from Northwest Boulevard to Higgens Point begins this week.

• Also this week, trail patching and repair work between Northwest Boulevard and state Highway 41 will be completed. During the week of Aug. 20, crews will fill cracks and seal that same stretch of trail.

• From Aug. 27 to Sept. 7, the remainder of the trail, from Highway 41 to the Washington state line, will be completed, barring bad weather.

Blasting increases I-90 pass delays

Rock blasting for freeway expansion at Snoqualmie Pass is starting earlier in the evening this week and could result in a longer freeway closure on Thursday, highway officials said.

A contractor is removing large chunks of the mountain along Interstate 90 east of the pass as part of a widening project along Keechelus Lake.

Hourlong closures for blasting are expected today and Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. On Thursday, a larger blast area could keep the freeway closed for two hours starting at 7:30 p.m.