In brief: Body found in car burning in Shadle Wal-Mart parking lot

Spokane police are investigating a body found in a car fire in the parking lot of the Shadle Wal-Mart, said police spokeswoman Teresa Fuller.

Donny Kottke, who lives near the store and saw the burning car firsthand, said he heard one loud explosion.

“We were just about to go to bed and we heard the explosion,” he said. “(When I) got over there the car was just engulfed in flames.”

As firefighters fought the blaze they discovered a body in the back seat. Multiple explosions were heard from the vehicle, according to a Spokane Fire Department news release.

Eli Francovich

Gonorrhea cases up in N. Idaho

Gonorrhea cases are at an all-time high in Idaho’s five northern counties.

There have been 32 reported cases of the sexually transmitted disease this year. For comparison, there were only 17 cases at this time last year.

“This uptick is concerning because we are seeing a wide range of people being infected – both men and women, ages 15 to 46 years old,” said Dave Hylsky, Panhandle Health District’s staff epidemiologist. “There’s no distinct pattern, location or demographic.”

Gonorrhea is a relatively mild disease if treated promptly. However, left unattended it can cause serious health problems. Hylsky recommends regular STD testing, using condoms, knowing your partner’s sexual history, minimizing anonymous sexual relations and avoiding group sex.

Eli Francovich

Deceased detainee identified

The suspected shoplifter who died last week while being detained by a store security guard in Coeur d’Alene has been identified as 35-year-old Andrew M. Dearmin.

Coeur d’Alene police said Monday the investigation into the Sandpoint man’s death is continuing and autopsy results are still pending.

Dearmin was detained Wednesday night by a store employee following a chase, but he asked to get up off the ground and began fighting to get away before being put back on the ground, police have said. During the second encounter, the man became lethargic. He was unresponsive when officers arrived and was pronounced dead at a hospital.

David Wasson

Burn ban covers all state lands

Burning is now banned on all Washington state forestland.

The Washington state Department of Natural Resources announced the West Side burn ban today. The East Side ban began last week.

“Westside forests are drying out, and the outlook is for continued warm, dry weather,” Commissioner of Public Lands Peter Goldmark said in a news release. Burning is banned in state forests, parks and forestland under DNR fire protection, but the ban does not apply to federal land.

Recreational fires in approved pits in designated state, county, municipal and other campgrounds are still allowed.

There have been 306 wildfire starts across the state in 2015.

Eli Francovich