In brief: Metal emblems taken in separate Idaho thefts

Nine metal emblems representing military branches and colleges have been pried off monuments in Kootenai County in the past two weeks.

In the latest theft, two University of Idaho emblems and two Lewis-Clark State College emblems were stolen from new signs at the entrances to Coeur d’Alene’s higher education campus along Northwest Boulevard.

They went missing last Thursday night or Friday morning, and replacing the emblems could cost around $3,900, according to North Idaho College.

Pat Murray, campus security supervisor at NIC, said he isn’t sure why anyone would steal the painted emblems, adding they have little value as scrap metal. “For where these are located and what they are, it seems an awful lot of risk for minimal reward,” Murray said.

In Post Falls, five plaques depicting each military branch were removed from a memorial at Q’emiln Park between Oct. 18 and 21. The plaques, installed by the Post Falls Lions Club in 2001, are valued at $275 to $700 each.

Scott Maben

Man ordered to prison for abuse of baby

A Spokane man was sentenced to 10 years in prison after he was found guilty of abusing his 2-month-old daughter.

Tyson J. Romaneschi, 27, was found guilty in July of charges of first-degree assault of a child, violation of a no-contact order and violation of an order of protection.

Doctors found that the baby girl had 20 broken bones in February 2012, after her mother, Shayna Tipton, took her to the hospital for a fever.

Romaneschi’s lawyers argued he didn’t intend to hurt the baby but thought squeezing her until she cried was the only way to make her go to sleep.

Romaneschi was given the maximum sentence for the crime, plus 36 months of probation and $6,240 in restitution.

Kaitlin Gillespie

Judge delays hearing in houseboat incident

Michael Sublie will not be back in a federal courtroom until January to face charges of obstructing a federal law officer and violating National Park Service noise restrictions during an incident in September in which a ranger shot a partygoer on Sublie’s boat.

Citing the ongoing investigation into the shooting, both the government and Sublie requested a continuance for a hearing scheduled Tuesday afternoon. U.S. Magistrate Judge John T. Rodgers approved a delay of the hearing until January.

Sublie pleaded not guilty to all charges shortly after the Sept. 14 confrontation, the details of which remain under wraps by the Washington State Patrol and the National Park Service, which are both investigating.

Kip Hill