In brief: Stolen truck found; inmate still missing

The truck stolen by an escaping Spokane County inmate Tuesday morning was found that afternoon, abandoned in a north Spokane neighborhood, the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

But deputies still are searching for the inmate, Devin B. Johnson, who escaped around 9:30 a.m. while working at the Spokane County Fairgrounds. The truck, which belongs to the fairgrounds, was found undamaged in the 200 block of West Lacrosse Avenue.

Johnson, 25, was being held at Geiger Corrections Center on domestic assault and harassment charges. Anyone with information regarding his whereabouts is asked to call Crime Check at (509) 456-2233.

Johnson is described as white, 5 feet 4 inches tall, 125 pounds with a shaved head and a goatee. He was last seen wearing an orange T-shirt and blue pants.

Police fatally shoot man who shot officer

BEAVERTON, Ore. – An enraged man armed with a shotgun wounded a Beaverton police officer who responded to a domestic disturbance call at a trailer park Wednesday morning, authorities said. Police returned fire and the shooter was later found dead.

The wounded officer, Scott Burke, 47, was taken to a hospital and later released, said Officer Mike Rowe, a Beaverton Police Department spokesman.

Rowe said police responded to the call shortly before 7 a.m. He said a man inside a trailer was volatile, throwing items out of his windows and at police.

A short time later, the man came out on his front porch, armed with the shotgun, and fired, hitting Burke. Police returned fire, and Rowe said the shooter, 59-year-old Michael Westrich, was found dead on the porch.

King County cites 15 unlicensed pot shops

SEATTLE – Fifteen unlicensed medical marijuana shops in unincorporated King County are on notice that they are violating the law.

King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg and Sheriff John Urquhart said Wednesday that they are cracking down on these stores after Washington lawmakers amended Initiative 502 to require licenses for all pot shops.

The change in the law brought medical marijuana into the state licensing and tax scheme, Satterberg said. The stores were notified by mail this week, and if they continue to operate as unlicensed retail outlets for the black market, they’ll face civil and criminal ramifications, Satterberg said.

Three workers hurt, Seattle utility says

SEATTLE – Seattle City Light said three of its employees were injured as they tried to install a ground rod at a Seattle substation.

The Wednesday afternoon accident triggered a power outage that affected nearly 10,000 customers.

Power later was restored.

Utility officials said the crew’s equipment caused an electric arc from an underground power line.

Seattle Fire Department spokesman Kyle Moore said one man in his 50s tumbled 20 feet and suffered a concussion, a 63-year-old man suffered thermal burns and a man in his 20s was cut and bruised.

Moore said all three were taken to Harborview Medical Center.