In brief: Northport man gets 20 years for murder
A Northport, Wash., man will spend about 20 years in prison for the murder of a 62-year-old woman two years ago.
Jeremy Bryant pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced by Stevens County Superior Court Judge Allen C. Nielson following testimony by the children of victim Narleen Campton, according to Stevens County Prosecutor Tim Rasmussen. Bryant admitted to stabbing the woman in the throat; an autopsy found she was beaten to death. Campton was found in her home near the Canadian border in November 2011, according to previous news reports. Investigators think she was killed during a drug-fueled theft.
Investigators originally suspected Robert Cody Wirtz of Spokane of the killing. He was later released and charges dropped because of lack of evidence.
Campton’s death remains under investigation.
Rogers football team honored by mayor
The night of a Seahawks game may not be the best time to attract football fans to a City Council meeting, but 10 Rogers High School football players and most of the team’s coaches were on hand Monday for the council’s declaration of John R. Rogers Football Appreciation Day.
The mayoral proclamation was read by Councilman Mike Fagan, who represents Hillyard and proposed the honor after reading a series about the 2013 Rogers football season in The Spokesman-Review.
Mayor David Condon presented coach Matt Miethe a coin that he gives to members of the community who help make Spokane “the city of choice.”
Condon said the Rogers football team does that “obviously for these guys, and a lot of others in our community.”
“We believe we had a great, great group of guys this 2013 season, and we built some real men,” Miethe said.
The proclamation was made at the start of the meeting in plenty of time to watch the second half.
Police find meth hidden in ice cream container
A 60-year-old man was arrested after a Spokane County Sheriff’s Office deputy discovered a baggie of meth hidden in a quart of ice cream in the man’s car.
Deputy Jeff Thurman stopped a car driven by Steven Fitch for a traffic violation at 10:45 p.m. on Friday, according to a news release. Thurman saw Fitch reaching toward the center console of his car and the deputy ordered him out of the vehicle.
Fitch’s hands were covered in a “white, creamy substance,” and the deputy saw a quart of ice cream in the car’s center console, the release said. The deputy spotted a plastic baggie of meth in the ice cream.
Fitch “tried to convince Thurman multiple times that he had no idea how the meth got into his ice cream,” the release said.
Fitch was booked into Spokane County Jail on a felony charge of possession of a controlled substance and other charges.
Pickup crashes through fence at Fairchild
A pickup truck crashed through a chain-link perimeter fence Sunday night at Fairchild Air Force Base.
The driver continued on a perimeter road to a gate, where the truck was surrounded by security forces.
Washington State Patrol troopers arrested the 22-year-old driver on suspicion of drunken driving and endangering a 14-year-old passenger who was injured in the crash.
News reports said a 30-foot section of fence was being repaired Sunday night, and the breach had little impact on Fairchild operations.
Head-on collision kills woman near Pullman
A woman was killed Monday afternoon after she lost control of her SUV and crashed into another SUV head-on outside Pullman, according to the Washington State Patrol.
Ruth A. Leritte, 31, was westbound on state Highway 270 about 4:05 p.m. in a Suzuki Grand Vitara and 7 miles east of Pullman when she struck an eastbound Chevrolet Blazer driven by Jeana Marie Boyd, 34.
Leritte, of St. John, Wash., died at the scene. Boyd, of Moscow, Idaho, was injured and taken to Pullman Regional Hospital.
Alcohol use was not a factor in the crash. Both drivers were wearing seat belts. The WSP said Leritte was driving too fast for the conditions.
Arson suspected in one of two morning fires
A pair of early morning fires, including one suspected as arson, burned an office and a duplex in Spokane on Monday, causing more than $100,000 in damage and displacing two residents.
The blaze that broke out at 5:15 a.m. in a duplex at 2510 N. Denver St. appeared to be set on purpose, Spokane Assistant Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer said. Flames damaged the kitchen and attached carport before firefighters were able to put it out. Two people living there are being assisted with housing by the American Red Cross, according to the Fire Department. Media reports indicated a dog died at the scene. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
An earlier fire destroyed a single-story building at 717 N. Stone St. that investigators said was being used as an office. Flames were reported by a newspaper carrier at about 4 a.m., according to a news release. One firefighter was taken to the hospital with a knee injury. Schaeffer said the fire was probably caused by old wiring in the building.
Idaho Aquarium chief sentenced to prison
KEY WEST, Fla. – The president of an Idaho aquarium convicted in the illegal shipping of protected sharks and rays from Florida has been sentenced to a year and a day in prison.
A federal judge in Key West on Monday imposed the sentence on Ammon Covino, 40, president of Idaho Aquarium in Boise and co-founder of Portland Aquarium in Oregon. Covino is also barred during two years of probation from working in a wildlife exhibit.
Court documents show Covino admitted involvement in illegally obtaining and shipping three spotted eagle rays and two lemon sharks for the Idaho Aquarium.
Intercepted communications showed Covino told Florida shippers to ignore the law.
The aquarium itself also pleaded guilty, agreeing to pay a $10,000 fine and donate $50,000 to the National Fish and Wildlife Federation.