In brief: Inmate found dead in Bonners Ferry

A Boundary County inmate was found dead in his cell Friday morning.

Jailers found Brian Howarth, 48, unresponsive and not breathing at about 7:40 a.m. in Bonners Ferry, according to a news release from the Boundary County Sheriff’s Office.

The death is under investigation.

An initial investigation did not indicate foul play, according to the release.

Man killed by shots fired into home

YAKIMA – The Yakima County Sheriff’s Office said a 32-year-old man died after several shots were fired into a rural home west of Toppenish on Saturday.

A 27-year-old Yakima man was arrested after a vehicle pursuit that ended miles later in Wapato. The suspect, who was not identified, was booked into Yakima County Jail on investigation of murder.

Investigators are searching for three other men who fled on foot from the vehicle.

The shooting happened at about 1:30 p.m. when deputies responded to reports of people shooting into a home. A woman and two small children who were in the home were not injured.

A sheriff’s statement said the suspects are 17-year-old Carlos Johnathan Hernandez and 18-year-old Martin Alvarez, both of Yakima, and 25-year-old Luis Alberto Anguiano, of Selah, Wash.

Horse trailer comes loose, kills man

MISSOULA – A 28-year-old Missoula man died after a horse trailer disconnected from a pickup and crossed the centerline where it collided with a passenger vehicle.

The Montana Highway Patrol said the crash in Glacier County occurred about 11 a.m. Saturday on U.S. Highway 2 near Browning.

Police said the trailer struck a 2006 Chrysler 300 on the passenger side, killing the man sitting there.

Police said the driver of the pickup was a 59-year-old man from Browning who also was injured.

Suspect arrested in death, assault

NORMANDY PARK, Wash. – Police have arrested a 23-year-old man accused of fatally shooting a man and assaulting a woman in Normandy Park south of Seattle.

Normandy Park police said in a statement Sunday that Shane Chamberlain was booked into King County Jail Saturday afternoon on investigation of murder and assault.

Officers responded to reports of an assault and a shooting just before 3 p.m. Saturday. They found one man dead in the home. The woman escaped and sought refuge at a neighbor’s house.

Neighbors told KOMO-TV the woman had been hit in the head with a crowbar by a house guest. She was taken to a local hospital.

Police said the King County medical examiner’s office took custody of the deceased victim Sunday morning and will determine a cause of death.

Police declined on Sunday to speculate on the suspect’s motive or release information about his relationship to the victims.

Badly injured surfer rescued by copter

WESTPORT, Wash. – The Coast Guard said a helicopter crew rescued an injured surfer from the south jetty at the entrance of Grays Harbor on Saturday afternoon.

The surfer suffered multiple fractures and other injuries while surfing near the jetty. A fellow surfer went to shore to call for help while other surfers helped the man onto the jetty.

A Jayhawk helicopter crew from Astoria worked with crews on the ground to hoist the injured surfer and transfer him to the Coast Guard station at Grays Harbor.

The surfer was taken to a hospital in Aberdeen.

Man, 78, found dead had gone missing

BELLINGHAM – A man whose body was found in the Nooksack River near Bellingham has been identified as 78-year-old Marion Blakemore.

Bellingham police Sgt. Dave Johnson told the Bellingham Herald that Blakemore was reported missing by his family members the day before he was found Friday afternoon by fishermen. He was last seen at his retirement community in Bellingham on Tuesday.

Relatives said in the missing person report they filed that Blakemore started showing signs of dementia.

Whatcom County Medical Examiner Gary Goldfogel said an autopsy will be performed today to determine cause of death but he did not see immediate signs of foul play.

Two earthquakes hit near Longview

LONGVIEW, Wash. – Seismologists said two minor earthquakes were felt in southwestern Washington on Sunday morning.

The Pacific Northwest Seismic Network’s John Vidale said the two quakes happened near Longview, about an hour apart and within 0.62 miles of each other. He said people felt it but the quakes weren’t likely to cause damage because they were deep and not intense.

The first, a 2.4-magnitude temblor, occurred at about 8:45 a.m. and was centered about 15 miles southeast of Longview. The second, a 3.0-magnitude quake, happened at about 9:30 a.m.

Too much vandalism of Obama plaque

EUGENE – A plaque of President Barack Obama has been vandalized so many times at a Eugene park that project officials have been forced to remove it.

Project director Roger Durant told the Eugene Register-Guard that a replacement plaque will be moved to a more secure location.

The president’s plaque has been a prime target since the Nobel Peace Park opened last spring to honor U.S. winners of the international Nobel Peace Prize and to promote peace education. Obama won the prize in 2009.

Durant said Obama’s plaque has been vandalized several times. Some markings, including a racial slur, were easy to clean off. But most recently, a profanity was carved into the laminate plaque.

Other plaques at the park have received markings, but none required replacing.

The park was created with more than $225,000 of donations.