In brief
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Coeur d’Alene Police have used tips from citizens to identify a man sought for questioning about an unconscious woman found outside bar early Sunday morning.
The woman was found in a parking lot near North Fifth Street and East Poplar Avenue and showed possible signs of being sexually assaulted, police said. The man, described as an older white male, was seen on surveillance video talking to the woman inside the Corner Bar before they both left around the same time.
Police have not released the man’s name, but said they have interviewed him. The investigation is ongoing.
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A rescue team spent nearly an hour trying to coax a distraught man out of the Spokane River as he waded in shallow water Tuesday afternoon, drawing attention from neighbors and passersby.
Rescuers from the Spokane Fire Department surrounded the man in inflatable kayaks just upriver from the Avista Corp. headquarters on Mission Avenue. Crews were initially dispatched at about 12:30 p.m. to the Greene Street bridge, where he reportedly had jumped into the river.
Spokane Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer said the man was initially shouting for help, “however, when we made numerous attempts to rescue him, he refused help.”
The man wore a green polo shirt and appeared unharmed as he waded near the kayakers and two police officers who approached him at the river’s edge. After much discussion he climbed out of the water, shook hands with rescuers and hiked up the eastern bank.
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An airman was found dead in a dormitory room at Fairchild Air Force Base around 2 p.m. Tuesday, according to the U.S. Air Force.
The airman was assigned to the 92nd Air Refueling Wing. The cause of death is under investigation by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations and the airman’s name will be released after the notification of next of kin.
No other information was immediately available Tuesday.
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Police are searching for a man who robbed the Alaska USA Credit Union inside the Shadle Safeway at 2507 W. Wellesley Ave. around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.
The man showed a handgun during the robbery, according to the Spokane Police Department. He made his escape in a dark silver or gray mid-2000 Chevrolet sedan with out-of-state license plates. The robber was described as an older white male and he may have committed a previous bank robbery in the area, police said.
Shortly after the robbery an officer spotted a car that was similar to what was described and had a possible New Mexico license plate. The officer gave chase, but the car fled at high speed and was last seen in the area of Boone Avenue and Elm Street.
Anyone with information about the robbery is asked to call Crime Check at (509) 456-2233 or the local FBI office at (509) 458-8100.
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A new Spokane County Sheriff’s Office dog and his handler helped the Spokane Police Department catch a man who had just stolen a rifle from a home while the resident slept.
Police were called to a home in the 4700 block of North Normandie just after 4 a.m. Tuesday. The homeowner told police that he woke up and noticed several things misplaced in his bedroom and his rifle missing. He said he saw someone run out of his backyard, according to police.
Sheriff’s Deputy Clay Hilton and his new police dog, Bane, responded to help track down the suspect. They found him hiding under a barbecue cover in the backyard of a home about a block away from the home he reportedly broke into. He was lying on top of the rifle. The homeowner’s backpack, which was full of stolen items, was found nearby, police said.
Police arrested Zachary D. Smith, 37, and booked him into the Spokane County Jail on suspicion of first-degree burglary, theft of a firearm, possession of a controlled substance and two counts of second-degree theft.