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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

In brief: Lewiston-area man gets 24 years for hatchet slaying on reservation

A Lewiston-area man was sentenced Tuesday to 24 years in prison for second-degree murder in the 2013 death of William Reich on the Nez Perce Indian Reservation.

Raymond Antoine Scott Jr., 39, of Lapwai, Idaho, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Coeur d’Alene.

Chief District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered Scott to serve five years of supervised release and pay a $250,000 fine.

Scott pleaded guilty May 4, admitting he killed Reich on July 9, 2013, using a hatchet or similar object to strike Reich in the head, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson said.

“The victim in this case, William Reich, was a kind man who deserved a far better fate,” Olson said in a news release.

Both men were members of the Nez Perce tribe.

Two hospitalized after I-90 motorcycle crash

Two British Columbia residents were hospitalized Tuesday afternoon after a motorcycle crash in Lincoln County.

Bryan E. Dudley, 73, was eastbound on Interstate 90 on a Harley-Davidson pulling a small trailer when a tire blew, causing the crash, the Washington State Patrol reported in a news release. The crash occurred just before 4 p.m. about 25 miles west of Spokane.

Dudley and his passenger, Emmi Dudley, 65, were transported to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center, WSP said. Their conditions were not available late Tuesday. Both live in Abbotsford, B.C.

Search continues for man who rescued swimmers

MATTAWA, Wash. – Authorities said they’ll resume searching today for a Yakima man who rescued swimmers from the Columbia River but then got caught in the current.

The Grant County Sheriff’s Office said the man dove into the river near Vernita Bridge about 10 miles south of Mattawa to help three juvenile swimmers who got caught in the current.

He got two of them to shore before he also was caught in the current.

Several agencies responded, including the Grant County Search and Rescue, Grant County PUD and the Columbia Basin Dive Rescue.

They suspended the search Tuesday evening because the swift current was making the search difficult.

Body of 8-year-old camper recovered from Lake Cle Elum

CLE ELUM, Wash. – Divers have recovered the body of an 8-year-old Yakima girl who drowned in Lake Cle Elum, the Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office said.

The girl, Christine Bethay, had been camping with her grandmother and was last seen swimming with other children and adults at the mouth of Morgan Creek.

She was reported missing Monday evening. The Sheriff’s Office said it’s not clear how long she had been out of sight; some of the children thought she had walked back to camp.

A search for the girl was suspended late Monday. Searchers resumed looking Tuesday morning and found her body about 20 feet from shore at about 7:45 a.m.

Bomb experts called after explosive brought to dump

TACOMA – A Tacoma dump was briefly closed Tuesday when someone turned in an explosive at the hazardous waste station.

Tacoma city spokesman Dan Davis said police responded around 3:30 p.m. at the Tacoma Recovery and Transfer Station. Bomb experts removed the explosive to a safe place, where it will be deactivated.

Davis told the News Tribune that it wasn’t clear what the explosive was. He said anyone who wants to dispose of an explosive should contact police and not transport it.

The dump plans to operate as scheduled today.