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In brief: Escaped inmate shot in leg, arrested

From Staff Reports

Escaped inmate Roy Bieluch was shot Thursday evening in a confrontation with a homeowner near Wallace, Shoshone County Sheriff Mitch Alexander said in a news release.

A man who lives in the area of Placer Creek south of Wallace went outside shortly after 5:30 p.m. to check on his barking dog, Alexander said. He found Bieluch and called 911. However, the homeowner told deputies that Bieluch advanced on him and he fired his handgun several times.

Bieluch was hit at least once in the leg, Alexander said.

Bieluch is in custody. He escaped Tuesday from the Shoshone County Jail, where he was being held on charges of burglary, malicious injury to property and failure to appear.

Harvey dismissed in Kettle Falls Five trial

Larry Harvey, 71, will not stand trial for his involvement in the so-called “ Kettle Falls Five” marijuana collective farm, a federal judge ruled Thursday.

Harvey; his wife, Rhonda Lee Firestack-Harvey; son Rolland Gregg; Gregg’s wife, Michelle Gregg; and family friend Jason Zucker were charged with manufacturing and trafficking marijuana based on a raid of their Stevens County home by federal authorities in August 2012.

Investigators found more than 100 plants at their residence and ledgers indicating the family was paying trimmers to process their marijuana. Federal prosecutors said this is evidence the family operated outside the state’s Medical Use of Cannabis Act.

Harvey’s attorney, Rob Fischer, said he sought a dismissal for his client based on a diagnosis of terminal pancreatic cancer. A wheelchair-bound Harvey said he’d lost 70 pounds as a result of weekly chemotherapy treatments since his diagnosis last year.

Earl Hicks, the assistant U.S. attorney prosecuting the case, indicated last week he would seek medical records to support dropping charges.

Presiding U.S. District Court Judge Thomas O. Rice approved the deal between Hicks and Fischer to dismiss the charges against Harvey. He will only attend the trial, currently set for next week, as a defense witness.