In brief: Head-on crash kills two drivers
Two drivers were killed Wednesday night in a fiery head-on crash in Adams County.
Chandler Tran, 19, of Tacoma, was driving a 2011 Mazda CX7 west on state Highway 26 about 18 miles west of Washtucna when he crossed the center line just after 7 p.m., the Washington State Patrol reported in a news release.
His car struck an eastbound 2003 Dodge Caravan driven by Kylie R. Hammington, 42, of Federal Way, Washington, the WSP said.
Both vehicles ignited, and both drivers died at the scene, the WSP said.
NIC student says director paid her
A female college student told a Coeur d’Alene police detective she received financial aid money for giving photos of a sexual nature to former North Idaho College financial aid director Joseph M. Bekken.
Bekken is facing five felony charges in his alleged scheme to entice students to have sex in exchange for college aid. A Kootenai County prosecutor said this week that additional charges may be filed related to the alleged aid-for-photos.
Bekken, who posted bond and was released from jail Tuesday, will appear March 19 before 1st District Court Magistrate Clark A. Peterson.
Coeur d’Alene police Officer Gus Wessel, who is assigned to NIC as a school resource officer, interviewed the student, who claims Bekken paid her for the pictures using financial aid funds. Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Jedediah Whitaker said in court Tuesday that Bekken is suspected of using federal funds to obtain the photos.
Bekken was arrested Feb. 18 and charged with five felonies, including attempting to procure a prostitute, attempting to misuse public money and bribery using scholarship money from NIC’s private nonprofit foundation.
Feds urged to block state GMO label laws
BOISE – The Idaho House has approved a non-binding memorial to Congress urging it to enact national legislation blocking any state from requiring labeling of food containing genetically modified organisms, or GMOs.
The measure says that only the federal Food and Drug Administration should regulate GMO labeling, to avoid “a patchwork of local and state mandatory labeling laws and regulations (that) will force costly changes to manufacturing, labeling, warehousing, inventory and distribution channels.”
There was bipartisan opposition to the measure, which passed on a 41-24 vote.
Felon accused of witness tampering
A man with a history of domestic violence convictions is accused with witness tampering in what police believe are attempts he made to avoid getting a third strike on his record that would send him to prison for life.
John J. Hartz Jr., 53, was previously a suspect in a felony domestic violence assault case but the charges were dismissed when the victim became uncooperative and left the state to live with her brother, whom she identified as Ricky, to avoid testifying, according to court documents. It would have been Hartz’s third strike if he was convicted.
On Monday, Hartz was arrested on suspicion of felony harassment-threat to kill for an incident involving a different woman. In that incident Hartz was accused of threatening to kill a woman and her son as well as breaking the phone when she tried to call for help, according to court documents.
Hartz was in court Thursday facing a new charge of witness tampering. When Hartz was being booked into jail he used a jail phone to call an acquaintance and was recorded telling his friend to tell “the little one” to “get ready to go to Ricky’s,” according to court documents.
Police believe Hartz was telling the victim in the earlier case to get out of town so the old third strike charges could not be filed against him again, according to court documents.
Hartz is being held in the Spokane County Jail on $75,000 bond. His previous convictions also include intimidating a judge.
Child porn charges bring prison term
A Spokane Valley man was sentenced to five years in prison this week after pleading guilty to federal charges of distributing child pornography.
William C. Powe, 39, was arrested in October 2013 after federal agents working undercover downloaded five explicit images from an Internet address they later linked to his residence. Authorities seized a laptop computer with more than 1,000 files of pornography featuring children under the age of 12, according to court documents. Powe pleaded guilty to a distribution charge in November.
As part of the plea agreement, Powe will spend five years in federal prison and will be on supervised release for 15 years after his sentence. Powe must also register as a sex offender and complete a treatment program.
Fairgrounds hosting home, garden show
The North Idaho Building Contractors Association’s Home & Garden Show is today through Sunday at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds in Coeur d’Alene.
The show runs noon to 6 p.m. today, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. It’s in the Jacklin Building. Enter at Gate D off Kathleen Avenue.
Admission is $5 or $4 with a canned food donation. Parking is free.
Information is available at (208) 765-5518 or www.nibca.com.
Spokesman-Review tower window shot
A window in the historic Review Tower that houses The Spokesman-Review was shot out early Thursday morning, possibly with a BB or pellet gun.
The shot broke the first pane of a double-paned window on the west side of the building at 999 W. Riverside Ave. “It shattered the entire window,” assistant building manager Bill Hardin said.
Building security officers and Spokane police have reviewed video surveillance footage. Around 1:30 a.m. the window changed color and began reflecting light differently as a car drove by, Hardin said. It will cost up to $4,000 to have the window replaced.