In brief: Detective facing assault charges resigns

A Spokane County sheriff’s detective linked to an alleged drunken brawl in May is turning in his badge.

Detective Dale Toliver, 46, has been on paid administrative leave since his arrest in rural Lincoln County three months ago on charges of domestic violence and assault. His resignation is effective Friday, according to the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office.

A jury trial had been scheduled to begin Wednesday but was postponed, records show. Toliver, who is being represented by Spokane defense lawyer Chris Bugbee, is charged with two counts of second-degree assault. A new trial date has been set for Sept. 26.

According to court documents, Toliver had been drinking around a campfire at a barn party near Odessa when he saw his girlfriend get into a pickup truck with another man. Toliver allegedly opened the driver’s side door and hit his girlfriend with a heavy-duty flashlight, then hit the other man, identified as Joseph “Mike” Melder, in the face. Toliver was severely injured when Melder grabbed a stick and knocked him to the ground, authorities said at the time.

Toliver has been with the Sheriff’s Office since 1997.

Body discovered near Upriver Dam cliffs

Two hikers found a dead man near the climbing rocks on East Upriver Drive on Wednesday afternoon.

At about 3:45 p.m., Spokane County sheriff’s deputies responded to a call of a body near the cliffs around Upriver Dam, said Deputy Craig Chamberlin. Major crimes detectives were at the scene, though Chamberlin said investigators don’t know if foul play was involved in the man’s death.

“Any time we have an unattended death, we treat it as a homicide,” Chamberlin said.

The body will be turned over to the Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office for identification and to determine the cause of death.

Bradley stays in ‘America’s Got Talent’

Spokane musician Cami Bradley advanced to the semifinals Wednesday in the TV competition “America’s Got Talent.”

The 25-year-old music director at Life Center church performed live in New York on the episode aired Tuesday night on NBC, along with seven other performers and groups who had advanced that far from among thousands of auditioners nationwide.

Bradley played and sang Cher’s “Believe” on Tuesday, and viewers voted to keep her on the show along with three other semifinalists. The grand prize is $1 million.