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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

In brief: Spokane police arrest felon after brief South Hill standoff

From Staff And Wire Reports

Police in Spokane arrested a seven-time convicted felon Saturday night after he allegedly fled from officers and threw a gun and drugs out the window of his vehicle.

Jody L. Wallette, 27, was taken into custody after a brief standoff at a home in south Spokane. He was booked into the Spokane County Jail on charges of attempting to elude a police vehicle, unlawful possession of a firearm and possession of methamphetamine, a controlled substance.

Police spotted a suspicious vehicle about 4 p.m. Saturday near the intersection of 36th Avenue and Ray Street. The car quickly drove away and the driver threw a firearm and a bag of drugs out the window, police said Sunday. The driver continued to flee approaching police vehicles, even driving into oncoming traffic.

Hostage negotiators, SWAT, K-9 officers and members of the Patrol Anti-Crime Team located the suspect at a home in the 3800 block of East 36th Avenue. After brief negotiations, Wallette exited and was arrested peacefully, police said.

Sen. Crapo to seek fourth term

LEWISTON – U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo said he will seek re-election in 2016.

In making the announcement Friday in Lewiston, the 63-year-old Republican said he’s committed to resolving a number of critical issues to the country.

Crapo was elected to the Senate in 1998 to succeed Sen. Dirk Kempthorne. He is serving the fourth year of his third term and is ranked 39th in seniority in the Senate.

A member of the minority party in the Senate, Crapo is the ranking member of the Senate’s Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, and serves on the Budget and Environment, Public Works, Indian Affairs and Finance committees.

There had been speculation by some political observers that Crapo would retire from the Senate after his current term.

Man, 35, dies while skydiving

SHELTON, Wash. – The Mason County Sheriff’s Office said a 35-year-old Puyallup man died in a skydiving accident at Sanderson Field in Shelton.

Detective William Adam said authorities got a call just before 1 p.m. Sunday from Kapowsin Air Sports reporting that a skydiver had landed very hard and that CPR was in progress. The skydiver could not be revived.

The Sheriff’s Office identified him as Ryan Erickson, and said he was experienced.

A man who answered the phone at Kapowsin Air Sports said the skydiver opened his parachute at normal altitude and was an experienced jumper with nearly 1,000 jumps.

Adam said the accident is under investigation.

Mother, son in accident ID’d

GRESHAM, Ore. – The state medical examiner’s office has identified two people who were struck and killed by a light-rail train in the Portland suburb of Gresham on Saturday.

Killed were 66-year-old Bertha Nellie Kelly, of Portland, and her 48-year-old son, John Paul Kelly, whose hometown was unknown.

The Tri-Met transportation agency said Kelly reportedly sat on his mother’s lap and accidentally hit her wheelchair’s toggle controller, propelling them both into the gap between two coupled train cars just as the train was leaving the station.

The Oregonian reported that a neighbor said Kelly, who was developmentally disabled, often jumped in his mother’s lap when he was happy.

The train was moving at the time the two fell. The platform has a 3-foot drop onto the tracks.