In brief: Dead man allegedly drunk, belligerent
Witnesses said a 50-year-old man found dead outside a home in the Logan neighborhood on Sunday grew drunk and belligerent before losing consciousness Saturday night.
No cause of death has been determined for Lorin E. Cheyney. Toxicology test results are pending.
Spokane police interviewed John Lund, 47, who said he met Cheyney at a grocery store Saturday afternoon. They went to a home in the 1200 block of East Ermina Avenue, where they drank and watched television with a woman, according to court records. The woman was later offered some drugs and passed out, while the men got into a fight.
Lund was arrested on an outstanding warrant and violating a no-contact order that barred him from the East Ermina address and seeing the woman, according to court documents.
Police found the body shortly after 2 p.m. Sunday, several hours after Lund told detectives his visitor had left and lost consciousness in the backyard. Detectives found the man lying in the snow with what appeared to be blood stains around him, according to court documents. Lund told police the two fought and that he checked on the unconscious Cheyney multiple times early Sunday before falling asleep.
Officer will retire in lieu of firing
A Spokane police officer will retire rather than face the threat of termination.
An internal investigation recently determined that Officer Barry O’Connell should be fired for “false reporting,” police spokeswoman Monique Cotton said. Details of the accusations have not been released. He was placed on paid leave on Nov. 29.
O’Connell, a 20-year veteran, was suspended for three weeks without pay in 2012 after his 10-year-old daughter accidentally shot herself in the leg with his service weapon. O’Connell was found to have violated the department’s weapons policy requiring officers to properly secure duty weapons at home.
He was suspended in 2010 for 80 hours without pay for “conduct unbecoming” an officer and for insubordination. In 2009, he was suspended without pay for 40 hours after accusations of sexual harassment were filed against him.
O’Connell submitted his retirement request Monday.
Footprints lead to break-in suspect
A Spokane man has been jailed on suspicion of burglarizing a Diamond Lake cabin on Friday night.
Larry J. Price Jr., 38, is accused of cutting a fence, breaking into a cabin and stealing sporting goods, movies, music and paintings, according to the Pend Oreille County Sheriff’s Office.
A citizen watched as the crime unfolded and blocked Price’s SUV from leaving, according to a news release. When deputies arrived, they followed footprints in the snow to find Price and then had to chase him down to arrest him.