In brief: Plummer man pleads guilty to killing birds of prey
A Plummer man pleaded guilty Wednesday to violating the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act after federal investigators found a large number of eagle and hawk feathers and a wide array of bird skulls and feet at his residence.
Adrian Q. Brown-Sonder, 23, could get up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine when sentenced in U.S. District Court Aug. 18, a court news release said.
Acting on a tip from an informant, the Coeur d’Alene Tribal Police, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services and the FBI talked with witnesses who said Brown-Sonder had admitted killing hawks and eagles. Morphology exams identified two bald eagles, two golden eagles, two rough-legged hawks, two red-tailed hawks and two unspecified dark-morph hawks in Brown-Sonder’s possession.
The Coeur d’Alene Tribe condemns the hunting of eagles and other birds of prey. Native Americans enrolled with federally recognized tribes may legally obtain feathers, talons and other eagle parts for religious and cultural purposes from the Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Eagle Repository.
Man faces another charge of indecency
A 40-year-old man accused of dropping his trousers at a Spokane Valley sandwich shop has a criminal history of assaulting fast-food customers.
James S. Huber was arrested just after 5 p.m. Tuesday at the Jimmy John’s on North Pines Road. An employee told police Huber, whose criminal history shows attacks on customers at area Zip’s and Jack-in-the-Box restaurants, walked into the store carrying an alcoholic beverage and refused to leave. His pants fell to his ankles twice, exposing his genitalia, according to court records.
Huber was found incompetent to stand trial for an assault in 2003, and later attempted to attack a Spokane firefighter after he collapsed on a sidewalk, according to court records. He was booked into jail Tuesday on a count of indecent exposure and faces felony charges after a previous conviction of indecent exposure, according to court records.
Agency: Pot sold to minor at 4 stores
OLYMPIA – Four licensed marijuana stores in Western Washington were accused this month of selling pot to a minor who was working with the state licensing agency on “compliance checks.”
The stores – two in Everett and two in Tacoma – could be hit with $2,500 fines and suspensions. The person who did the selling could be charged by a local prosecutor.
The four stores were among 22 tested in Western Washington between May 15 and 18. They failed to check the minor’s identification that showed he or she wasn’t 21, or didn’t ask to see it.
Failing the checks were Mary Mart and Emerald Leaves in Tacoma and Green City Collective and Purple Haze in Everett.
The compliance rate of 82 percent in the first round of marijuana store checks is lower than the 85 percent rate for all stores that sell some alcohol products and the 92 percent rate for stores selling spirits, said Brian Smith, Liquor Control Board spokesman.
The agency warned all stores it would do be doing compliance checks starting this month, Smith said.
Libby Dam to raise flows for sturgeon
Flows through Libby Dam will start increasing on Friday to help endangered Kootenai River white sturgeon as they spawn.
Flows will increase to about 26,500 cubic feet of water per second and will remain at that level for about one week before flows start to decrease.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will hold a public meeting 7 to 9 p.m. May 28 at the Kootenai River Inn in Bonners Ferry to discuss operations at Libby Dam.
N.Y. Times writer to speak at Whitworth
New York Times columnist David Brooks will speak in Spokane at the Whitworth University President’s Leadership Forum on Oct. 13.
In a news release, Whitworth President Beck Taylor called him “one of the preeminent social commentators of our time.”
The forum will be held at 7:30 a.m. at the Spokane Convention Center. For more information or to RSVP, visit http://www. whitworth.edu/leadership forum.