In brief: Schweitzer, Silver mountains to close

They fought the good fight, but this strange winter is winning. Schweitzer Mountain and Silver Mountain ski resorts will close for the season after the end of operations on Sunday, officials announced Thursday.

The resorts normally are open at least through spring break.

That likely will bring the lift-skiing season in the Inland Northwest to a close.

Lookout Pass has announced it’s closed for the season. Mt. Spokane and 49 Degrees North list their current closures as “temporary” on their websites.

Brad McQuarrie, general manager of Mt. Spokane, said with warm weather in the forecast the chance of reopening is “probably about 10 percent.”

Staff report

Bail set for accused bank robber

A man accused of robbing a north Spokane bank reportedly led police on a chase after committing a bank robbery Wednesday afternoon, riding his bike through alleys and across yards until he slammed into the side of a squad car.

Minutes after his bond was set at $50,000 in court Thursday, David C. Burns interrupted the judge to ask that someone take care of his dogs. “They’re starving right now,” he said before the microphone in the Spokane County Jail courtroom was turned off.

Washington Trust Bank employees said a man dressed in a dirty gray sweatshirt and pants and a Spider Man mask entered the bank at 27 E. Indiana Ave. around 3:30 p.m. He put a black canvas bag on the counter and demanded cash.

Spokane police Officer Jim Christensen spotted a man he believed fit the description of the suspect riding a bike at Nora Avenue and Division Street. Christensen tried to stop the man, identified as Burns, but the bicyclist rode south on Ruby as Christensen gave chase in his patrol car, according to court records.

The chase went through alleys and yards and Burns dropped the backpack he was carrying behind a home near Augusta Avenue and Division. As officers converged, Christensen cut Burns off and Burns rode into the side of the police car, court records say. Burns tried to run but was tackled and handcuffed. The backpack was recovered and was found to have a black canvas bag and loose cash. The Spider Man mask and gray sweatshirt were found at Nora and Division.

Burns faces a charge of first-degree robbery. His criminal history includes four felony convictions and 35 misdemeanor convictions.

Nina Culver

Shoshone County Jail escapee Roy J. Bieluch reportedly had help when he shimmied through a crawl space and walked out of the jail in February.

Two fellow inmates have been charged with assisting an escape and face an additional $50,000 bond.

The trio did not know each other before they were incarcerated together but had become “jailhouse buddies,” said jail administrator Capt. Rick Smith. “They basically stood watch for him while he escaped,” he said.

Michael S. Hall, 48, was being held on a charge of aggravated battery and Michael J. Kramer, 19, was recently sentenced to between two and five years of prison on a charge of burglary.

The men were assigned to the same cleaning work crew the night that Bieluch escaped. Bieluch had access to a closet and used an opening in the ceiling of the closet to get into the crawl space.

Bieluch was shot in a confrontation with a homeowner two days after his escape and rearrested. He is being held at the Kootenai County Jail.

Nina Culver