In brief: Police say man stole handgun from downtown pawn shop

A man is in the Spokane County Jail after allegedly pointing a handgun at a downtown pawn shop employee before stealing the same handgun.

William H. McBride, 36, is being held on $30,000 bond on charges of first-degree robbery and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. McBride is a felon with multiple previous convictions and is barred from possessing guns.

According to court documents, McBride entered the Millman Jewelers E-Z Loans at 407 W. Main Ave. on Thursday afternoon. He asked to look at a handgun and reportedly pulled the trigger and racked the slide several times before pointing it at an employee. He told the employee he was taking the gun and left the store.

Several responding police officers chased McBride and one attempted unsuccessfully to immobilize him with a stun gun, according to court documents. McBride was arrested two blocks from the pawn shop. The gun was recovered with the price tag still attached.

Miami Seaquarium, activists clash over orca Lolita’s future

Federal officials are deciding whether to include a killer whale living at Miami Seaquarium in a family of wild orcas declared endangered in 2005.

Activists who want to return Lolita to the Pacific Northwest say the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s decision could pave the way to sending the orca home.

The activists hope to buy Lolita and move the orca to a protected cove near the San Juan Islands.

But Seaquarium officials say Lolita isn’t going anywhere. Seaquarium’s curator of animals, Robert Rose, told the Miami Herald that Lolita is not for sale and will not be released.

Lolita was captured in 1970. Rose said the orca would not survive in the wild, but activists say the 20-foot-long marine mammal would thrive if reunited with its pod.

Worker attacked by 3 dogs at Bozeman animal hospital

BOZEMAN – An employee at a Bozeman animal hospital has been injured after being attacked by three dogs.

Dennis Moylan of the Montana Veterinary Hospital said a seasoned employee of 15 years was rotating three bulldogs from an indoor kennel to the yard on Friday when the dogs attacked.

He said the employee suffered injuries to her right arm and was in stable condition Friday night at Bozeman Deaconess.

The owner of the dogs was notified and the owner gave them permission to have the dogs put down.

Oregon man, 49, pleads guilty to incest with daughter, 25

EUGENE – An Oregon man has pleaded guilty to incest for having a sexual relationship with his 25-year-old daughter.

Forty-nine-year-old Eric Lee Gates entered the guilty plea in Lane County Circuit Court on Friday. He’s scheduled to be sentenced on Tuesday and faces up to five years in prison and $125,000 in fines.

Prosecutor Chris Parosa told the judge that Gates did not know his daughter when they were introduced by a mutual friend. Gates was in jail, and they began a pen-pal relationship.

The prosecutor said they realized their genetic connection before the relationship turned sexual. He said they began living together and had a child with significant mental and physical problems. They have since had a second child.

The Eugene Register-Guard reported that the daughter also faces incest charges but has not been arraigned.