In brief: Officials say man beat infant daughter
KALISPELL – A Kalispell man is denying charges that he beat and critically injured his 5-month-old daughter.
The Flathead Beacon reported Brandan Thorne pleaded not guilty Thursday to assault on a minor. A District Court judge set his trial for Jan. 5.
Prosecutors allege Thorne became frustrated with his daughter on April 13 and beat her up against a wall. A neighbor called police.
Court records say the baby was taken to the hospital in Kalispell and then flown to a hospital in Spokane. Doctors say the girl suffered from retinal hemorrhaging and began having seizures. Prosecutors say she has undergone several operations and is still receiving treatment.
Thorne told investigators he doesn’t remember what happened because he “blacked out.” Thorne remains jailed.
Suspect in Seattle killings arrested
SEATTLE – Seattle police said the man charged with aggravated murder in the June 1 execution-style shooting deaths of two young Seattle men has been arrested in New Jersey.
Sgt. Sean Whitcomb said the Essex County, New Jersey, Prosecutor’s Homicide Task Force and West Orange, New Jersey, police arrested 30-year-old Ali Muhammed Brown on a warrant Friday afternoon.
King County prosecutors have filed aggravated murder charges against Brown in the deaths of 23-year-old Dwone Anderson-Young and 27-year-old Ahmed Said.
Police say the motive remains a mystery. The victims were killed a short time after they left a gay nightclub.
Investigators believe Brown fled to New Jersey after the slayings.
Deputy fired after New Year’s arrest
SEATTLE – The King County sheriff has fired a deputy who was arrested on New Year’s Eve after he was found hunched over the steering wheel of his patrol car.
The Seattle Times reported Sheriff John Urquhart fired Deputy Whitney Richtmyer, 47, for violations involving criminal conduct and dishonest statements.
Investigators previously said the deputy was impaired by multiple prescription drugs when he was found in a Newcastle parking lot.
A three-month investigation was conducted by Bellevue police, who had a blood sample tested. It found the presence of multiple prescription drugs that are dispensed with warnings against operating machinery or vehicles.
Richtmyer was the second deputy fired this week.
The other was Darrion Holiwell, who has been charged with encouraging prostitution, stealing department ammunition and a drug violation.
Search for missing hiker scaled back
MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK, Wash. – Officials at Mount Rainier National Park are scaling back operations as the search for a 64-year-old missing Tacoma hiker entered the sixth day.
Deputy Superintendent Tracy Swartout said there’s still no sign of Edwin Birch, who went missing last weekend while hiking the popular 93-mile Wonderland Trail.
She said no air searches were planned Friday but six people on the ground were focusing on areas on the east side of the park.
Birch was last seen by his son last Saturday as they hiked the Wonderland Trail, which loops Mount Rainier.