In Brief: Two Coeur d’Alene children recovering from burns

Two Coeur d’Alene children are recovering from burns in a Seattle hospital after a gas can exploded near a backyard fire pit over the weekend.

Joshua Emerson, 8, and Brooklynne White, 4, are at the UW Medicine Regional Burn Center at Harborview Medical Center.

Emerson is in intensive care with first- and second-degree burns on 21 percent of his body, mostly his legs and arms, a family member said Monday. The girl has burns on 9 to 13 percent of her body, according to a relative.

The children are neighbors in the 1400 block of Norlyn Court. They were playing on swings about 5 p.m. Saturday when a 35-year-old man poured gasoline from a 5-gallon can onto a fire pit. The can caught fire and the man threw it behind him, where it exploded and engulfed the children, Coeur d’Alene police said.

Bystanders doused the flames, and paramedics rushed the children to Kootenai Health. They were flown that night to Harborview.

A police report on injury to a child will be reviewed by county prosecutors before a determination is made on filing charges, police said.

Two fundraising efforts have been established to help the families with expenses: gofundme.com/aw18rc and giveforward.com/fundraiser/gpz4/joshua-emerson.

Scott Maben

Man at Hoopfest accused of voyeurism

A Spokane man is accused of voyeurism after a woman confronted him about trying to film up her skirt as she watched her son play at Hoopfest.

Zach Likarich, 36, hid a cellphone in a lunchbox to make the secret recording, according to court documents. When the woman confronted Likarich about the cellphone, he denied wrongdoing and attempted to walk away.

Several onlookers detained Likarich until police arrived. He produced two other cellphones before handing over the one suspected of containing explicit files, according to investigators. Likarich has a history of sexual misconduct.

Likarich pleaded guilty five years ago to possessing child pornography. He had worked for The Spokesman-Review as an online marketing developer and had downloaded the explicit material onto company computers. During the investigation he blamed his activities on being angry about not receiving a pay raise, according to records.

Kip Hill