In brief: Bonner County deputy hurt in semitruck collision
A Bonner County Sheriff’s deputy was critically injured Tuesday evening after his SUV was hit by a semitruck on U.S. Highway 95 near Cocolalla.
Deputy Alexander Hughes, 29, was driving south when he attempted to make a U-turn in his 2011 Chevy Tahoe, the Idaho State Police reported in a news release. His SUV was struck by a southbound semi driven by Adil Naib, of Calgary, Alberta.
Hughes was taken to Kootenai Health, where he was listed in critical condition Wednesday evening. Naib was uninjured. The crash is under investigation by the ISP.
Former city clerk of Athol pleads guilty to wire fraud
The former city clerk of Athol pleaded guilty Wednesday to writing 227 checks to herself and her husband from a city bank account totaling more than $417,000.
Sally R. Hansen, 39, faces up to 20 years in prison for each of the 15 counts of wire fraud she pleaded guilty to Wednesday. Investigators from the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Secret Service discovered the embezzlement, alleged to have occurred shortly after Hansen was hired in 2009 through 2014. In total, prosecutors say Hansen took $417,879 from the city by depositing taxpayer funds into her personal bank account.
Hansen wrote off the losses as paycheck payments, according to court records, and signed the mayor’s name to some of the checks. The case went federal because wire transfers were routed through other states.
Hansen is scheduled to be sentenced in May. As part of a plea agreement, she will have to pay the full amount back to the city.
Woman arrested after toddler left in vehicle
A Spokane Valley woman was arrested Tuesday evening after deputies say she left her car along the road with her 2-year-old daughter inside and couldn’t remember where she parked.
Hailey A. Helgeson, 22, is in the Spokane County Jail facing charges of driving under the influence and reckless endangerment. Her bond was set at $10,000.
The case is the second time this month within Spokane County that a parent has been accused of forgetting where they parked a car with a 2-year-old left alone inside. In the other case, Charles B. Fife allegedly left his son in a car for more than five hours on the South Hill.
The woman arrived at her home in the 800 block of South Best without the child or her car about 8:30 p.m. Her husband asked her where the child was and she initially replied that she thought the girl was at home, said Spokane County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Deputy Mark Gregory.
Helgeson finally confessed to her husband that she had run out of gas while out driving around and couldn’t remember where she left the car, which had their daughter inside, Gregory said.
Deputies searched the area for about 30 minutes before a family member found the car parked in the 16600 block of East 23rd Avenue.
“The child could have been in the car up to two hours,” Gregory said.
The child was alert and appeared unharmed. She was examined by medics before being released to her father, Gregory said.
Police investigate death of man found in home
Police are investigating the death of a man found lying on his living room floor surrounded by broken glass and other items indicating a possible struggle.
An officer found Willie Richardson, 64, dead at his home at 2009 W. College Ave. on Jan. 15, according to a search warrant. Richardson’s landlord contacted police after becoming concerned when Richardson did not pay his rent for January.
Richardson’s son told police that he lived next door and had a good relationship with his father, but had not seen him since about Dec. 14.
His body was found naked on the floor with a foam-like substance near his nose and mouth, according to the warrant. Police noted that the room was in disarray with many items broken or knocked over, and said in the warrant it was difficult to determine whether Richardson had been injured due to the degree of decomposition.
The search warrant seeks physical evidence from the house, including fingerprints and DNA samples.
Downtown fight ends in stabbing, hospitalization
Police responded to a reported stabbing at an apartment building in the 200 block of South Wall Street in downtown Spokane about 2 p.m. Wednesday.
Witnesses said two men were arguing before one pulled out a knife and stabbed the other, according to a police news release. The victim’s injuries were initially thought to be life-threatening, but his condition later was upgraded.
The suspect fled the scene but was arrested not long after the stabbing. Paul Sicurello, 47, was booked into the Spokane County Jail on a charge of first-degree assault.
Man pleads guilty to possession of child porn
Randy James Hirst, 57, of Rathdrum pleaded guilty Wednesday to possession of sexually explicit images of minors, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson said.
According to a plea agreement, Hirst downloaded sexually explicit images of minors from the Internet in 2013. The images were found in a July 2013 search of his residence. A forensic review of seized items found 300 photos and nine videos of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct, including images of prepubescent minors, Olson said.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children determined that Hirst’s collection included images of minors from multiple states, including Idaho and Washington, and from several foreign countries.
Hirst faces up to 10 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000 and lifetime supervised release. He will be sentenced May 5.