In brief: West Side homicide suspect caught in Post Falls

A suspect in a Western Washington homicide was apprehended Saturday at a home in Post Falls.

Christopher Olsen, 32, was taken into custody in the 2600 block of Revette Street.

He was arrested by Post Falls police, the U.S. Marshals Service and sheriff’s deputies from Pierce County, where Olsen is wanted for a Feb. 16 homicide.

Snowmobiler killed in Cabinet avalanche

KALISPELL – A Montana man died in an avalanche while riding his snowmobile on the Idaho-Montana border.

Four men on snowmobiles triggered the avalanche about 1:15 p.m. Saturday while riding in the West Cabinet Range about 15 miles southwest of Troy, Mont., authorities said.

The Montana-based Flathead Avalanche Center said two snowmobilers were buried, but one had his face exposed and was dug out with no injuries.

The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department on Sunday identified the deceased snowmobiler as 49-year-old Bryan William Harlow, of Libby, Mont.

The sheriff’s department said the snowmobilers, all from Libby, stopped in a low-lying area when the avalanche occurred.

The survivors dug out Harlow, but he couldn’t be revived.

Fire cleanup closing Newport High School

Newport High School will be closed today for cleanup from a small fire there Friday.

The fire broke out shortly before noon in a sawdust collector outside the shop class. The school was evacuated and students relocated to Stratton Elementary School. The fire was contained and extinguished.

Clean air is being circulated through the building and classes will resume Tuesday, the Newport School District said.

Convicted killer seeks DNA retest

TACOMA – A man serving life in prison for the 1996 rape and murder of a 9-year-old girl is seeking to retest DNA evidence that helped convict him.

Attorneys for Guy Rasmussen have asked a Pierce County Superior Court judge to allow DNA evidence collected in the case to be retested using modern technology, the News Tribune reported.

Lawyers with the Innocence Project Northwest argued that DNA tests used at the time of his arrest and conviction were rudimentary.

Pierce County prosecutors do not oppose retesting and are confident it will confirm his guilt.

Judge Bryan Chushcoff heard preliminary arguments in December.

Cyndi Allinger walked from her Lakewood home to visit a friend on July 4, 1996. Her body was discovered in a field nearly two weeks later.

Care home manager accused of battery

TWIN FALLS, Idaho – A 62-year-old Twin Falls woman who runs an assisted living home is charged with using a metal pipe to beat a client who has dementia.

Jordana Brenda Bryan was arraigned Wednesday in Twin Falls County Magistrate Court on a charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

State health officials said Bryan’s certificate to run a certified family home has been suspended.

Bryan was arrested Jan. 24 after sheriff’s deputies arrived at Iris House Alternative Living to assist Health and Welfare and state adult protective services in investigating how a man suffered a large cut on his head that was covered in dried blood.

An aide told police Bryan beat the man.