A man who arrived in Spokane about a week ago from Ethiopia was robbed while jogging on the South Hill early Sunday, police say.

The 38-year-old victim does not speak English but said he recognized the word “money” when a man approached him about 5:20 a.m. near West 8th Avenue and South Adams Street, according to court documents.

The victim said he tried to communicate with the man, but the man grabbed his necklace and acted as though he was reaching for a weapon.

The man said he feared for his life and backed up as the robber broke the necklace and stole two charms from it. The victim's friend translated his Tigrigna language to English for police.

Police spotted William C. Calamanco, 25, in the area, and the victim identified him as the robbery by his tattoos. Police say Calamanco is suspected in similar attacks. Calamanco told police the man offered his necklace in exchange for meth, but officers didn't believe him and booked him into jail for second-degree robbery.

Calamanco was out of jail awaiting trial for two felony cases. One is a vehicular assault charge for a crash Feb. 5 in which he allegedly bragged to a nurse that he was “driving really, really, really fast.” The other is a burglary case that occurred in November but wasn't solved until February.
  

A man described by sheriff's deputies as “extremely intoxicated” crashed his Jeep Cherokee into trees near Handy and Hatch roads in Colbert early Saturday.

Warren Anderson, 22, said he couldn't remember how much he had to drink but “it was a lot,” the Spokane County Sheriff's Office said today. Anderson had a pill in a piece of burned foil that he said he was a “Roxi” but also said “that he did not really know what he was smoking,” the sheriff's office said.

Deputy Chad Ruff determined the pill was the narcotic Roxicodone. He and Deputy Scott Kenoyer contacted Anderson after responding to the one-car crash about 4:30 a.m.

A witness told dispatcher he'd seen the Jeep at the intersection of Handy and Hatch about a half an hour earlier, and the driver was sitting in the driver's seat not moving. He saw the Jeep crashed when he drove back through the intersection.

Deputies said they smelled a strong odor of intoxicants as they approached the Jeep. They said Anderson refused to exit the vehicle but “was placed under arrest” for drunken driving and began to cooperate, according to the sheriff's office.

Anderson was booked into jail on charges of driving under the influence and possession of a controlled substance.

A retired Spokane firefighter with a history of impaired driving and a conviction for vehicular homicide has been sentenced to 17 months in prison for drunken driving.

A jury convicted David W. Batty, 56, of drunken driving after a short trial in Spokane County Superior Court earlier this month.

He was booked into the Spokane County Jail on Friday, where he's awaiting transport to prison to begin his sentence. He'll be credited for time already spend in jail, which includes the month he was there after his arrest in January.

Batty had a blood-alcohol level of twice the legal limit for driving when he was stopped for speeding about 11:30 a.m. in January 2011 at milepost 310 on U.S. Highway 2.  Batty told police that he had two drinks early that morning and had taken four prescription medications, according to court documents.

The charge was a felony because Batty has a previous conviction for a fatal, alcohol-related car crash in 1993.

Batty was rehired by the Spokane Fire Department after serving time in prison for vehicular homicide but was on medical leave when he caused a crash in January 2007 that killed three people. He was not charged in that crash but never returned to the Fire Department.

Then in 2009, he was sentenced to nine months in jail after he was stopped in July 2008 and tests showed he was impaired on prescription drugs and alcohol.

A 17-year-old boy in a stolen van was arrested for drunken driving after running into a fast food restaurant, then disabling his front tires by running over a curb.

The boy also faces charges of attempting to elude police, possession of a stolen vehicle, hit and run, possession of marijuana and driving while license suspended after deputies were dispatched to a van driving recklessly Saturday about 7:30 a.m. in the area of East Bigelow Gulch Road and North Argonne Road, according to the Spokane County Sheriff's Office.

Witnesses called 911 to report the van, and sheriff's Deputy Matt Spink caught up with near Highway 2 and Day-Mt. Spokane Road.

Spink followed the van and was told by dispatchers that it had just run into the Zip Trip nearby, according to the sheriff's office. He tried to stop the van, but it sped away before the boy drove it over a curb near Lane Park and Chesapeake Road, which disabled the front tires.

Spink arrested the boy. The owner of the van said he'd parked it in front of his home about 11 p.m. the night before and did not know the boy or that his van had been stolen.
  

A woman suspected of drunkenly crashing her car into a house will remain jailed on $7,500 bond, despite her lawyer's claim that she is not a danger to the community.

“Crashing into someone's house doesn't count as a danger to the community?” Judge Annette Plese asked public defender Steve Heintz.

Plese told suspect Angelique P. Sam, 39, that she disagreed with Heintz - someone driving drunk, suicidal and ramming a house is indeed a danger to the community, Plese said.

Heintz had asked for Sam to be released on her own recognizance, saying there was no indication she would put the public at risk.

Sam was arrested Sunday after police responded to a crash near East Foothills and North Standard Street about 4:20 a.m. An officer contacted Sam as she tried to run and noted she had slurred speech and appeared drunk

Police say Sam “had urinated herself, completely covering her groin and leg area,” according to court documents. She admitted to driving drunk, police said.

“I drank a lot and tried to hit the house,” Sam said, according to court documents. “I usually don't drink but I couldn't help myself.”

Sam's passenger, who was injured, told police Sam intentionally crashed into the home.

Sam was involved in a murder trial in 2007 involving her husband, Avery E. Sam, who's now serving 24 1/2 years in prison for murdering the couple's great nephew, who was placed in their home under an agreement between state welfare workers and the Yakama Nation Tribal Court.
  

Compared to the serious mayhem caused by inebriated motorists, lawn damage is nothing.

But at this exact time of year, when the turf is mushy and vulnerable, drunks who veer onto lawns while trying to navigate their way home really make a mess.

Of course, there's no proof that these tire-caused gouges in moisture-softened yards are alcohol-related. Maybe the person responsible simply cannot drive and that's why he or she took a corner way too sharp and created a divot the size of a kayak. Or simply over-corrected up onto the grass on a straight stretch.

But the fact that many of these yard incursions seem to happen in the middle of the night does raise suspicions.

If you do any early morning walking, you might have seen one or two of these ripped-up swaths. 

We like to joke in Spokane about yelling “Hey, get off my lawn!”

But some late-night drivers deserve to hear that. And to be in jail.

A Cheney man was arrested for drunken driving and eluding police early today in Stevens County.

Todd Earl Toreson, 38, lost control of his 2004 Ford F150 about 12:46 a.m. near on state Route 231 about 12 miles south of Springdale, according to Washington State Patrol.

His passenger, Beau Earl Lyons, 33, of Sedro Woolley, was injured and transported to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center.

Toreson was not injured.

Wellpinit Tribal police were pursuing Toreson when he crashed the truck and rolled into a ditch, WSP said.

A man was arrested for allegedly kicking his 18-month-old nephew in the face Tuesday night.

Eric S. Peters, 33, drove away from his sister's home in the 7700 block of North Colton Street drunk and with his young child in the car after the altercation but was arrested at an apartment in the 2200 block of East North Crescent Avenue, police said today.

Peters exited the apartment after an hour and a half of negation and was arrested without incident, according to police.

Peters' sister said he slapped her before her boyfriend escorted him out of the apartment and told her he'd kicked her son about 8 p.m. She said her son was screaming and had blood gushing from his nose. Doctors said the child had a mild concussion, police say. Officers observed injuries on both the child and mother.

Peters was arrested on charges of felony third-degree assault of a child and misdemeanor city assault and reckless endangerment.
  

A driver involved in a one-car crash that engulfed his vehicle in flames allegedly bragged to a nurse about the incident, police say.

William C. Calamanco, 25, “was in a boisterous state and explained to the nurse that he was 'driving really, really, really fast,'” Officer Aaron Kirby said in court documents filed Wednesday. Kirby said he overheard Calamanco talking to the nurse after a blood draw at Deaconess Medical Center.

Kirby already suspected Calamanco of vehicular assault. He'd contacted him in the 2800 block of West Summit Boulevard in West Central about 10:05 p.m. Sunday after a car crashed into a tree and burst into flames. Calamanco and his brother and passenger, Eric Calamanco, suffered minor injuries.

Calamanco denied driving but then said he'd hit his head on the steering wheel, according to court documents. Police said he smelled of alcohol. Kirby found burnt beer cans in the car after the fire was extinguished.

Calamanco remains in jail on felony charges of vehicular assault and making a false statement.

A father was arrested on suspicion of vehicular assault Monday after a one-car crash that injured his 5-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter in south Spokane County.

A 21-year-old woman accused of leaving the scene of fatal drunken crash has been charged with two felonies.

Hannah K. Hahn, 21, remains in jail on $50,000 bond after appearing in Superior Court today on charges of vehicular homicide and failure to remain at the scene of an accident for the crash early Saturday that killed pedestrian Dennis Burgess, 47.

Hahn posted bond over the weekend on a vehicular assault charge but was to be rearrested on the vehicular homicide charge Monday after officers learned Burgess had died.

She didn't show up for court Monday afternoon, and her public defender said she tried to turn herself into he jail later that day but was turned away, according to KHQ. She was arrested on Tuesday.

Hahn, who is pictured courtesy KHQ, has two misdemeanor convictions for minor in possession of alcohol and possession of another person's ID.

Police say Hahn smelled of alcohol and had “some small bottles of alcohol” on her when they stopped 1999 Dodge Durango as it sped north on Market near Hawthorne Road about 2:17 a.m. Saturday.

Officers seized three cans of Mike's Harder Blueberry Lemonade, a bag of suspected marijuana from the car, according to a search warrant filed Tuesday.

 Burgess was struck on Market near East Providence Avenue. His family said he was father of three and worked as a carpenter and landscaper.

Past coverage

Jan. 30: Patrols follow pedestrian-auto crashes

A 21-year-old vehicular homicide suspect who missed her court appearance on Monday is back in jail after turning herself in.

Hannah Kay Hahn was arrested Tuesday at her lawyer’s office, KHQ-TV reports.

She was booked into jail about 5:15 p.m. on charges of vehicular homicide and hit-and-run for a crash early Saturday that killed pedestrian Dennis Burgess, 47, at North Market Street and East Providence Avenue. Her bond is set at $50,000. She'll appear before a judge today.

Police say Hahn smelled of alcohol and had “some small bottles of alcohol” on her when they stopped her SUV as it sped north on Market near Hawthorne Road about 2:17 a.m. Saturday.

The SUV’s windshield was broken and its front end and hood were damaged.

Hahn was arrested Saturday but posted bond on a vehicular assault charge. Police planned to arrest her on the upgraded vehicular homicide charge Monday but she didn't show up for court.

Burgess was a father of three and worked as a carpenter and landscaper, his family said.

Past coverage

Jan. 30: Patrols follow pedestrian-auto crashes

Crashes that hurt one man and killed another in Spokane last weekend occurred as local authorities are working to emphasize pedestrian safety to motorists.

Emphasis patrols Tuesday and next month in Cheney are part of an ongoing effort in Spokane County to reduce the number of pedestrians injured or killed by motorists each year.

But police say two motorists arrested on felony charges this weekend did more than just fail to yield the right of way.

Read the rest of my story here.

LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Police say a man in Indiana accused of stealing a car threatened to hunt down and eat his arresting officers, their families and police dogs.

A wrong-way driver accused of injuring two people in a freeway crash early Sunday passed a state trooper just before the 3:34 a.m. crash

Eric Edward McElmurry, 28, was allowed to leave jail on his own recognizance Monday after appearing before Spokane County Superior Court Judge Michael Price on vehicular assault charges.

Trooper Falkner was westbound on Interstate 90 east of Liberty Lake when McElmurry passed him going eastbound in the neighboring westbound lane, according to a probable cause affidavit. Falkner tried to stop him, but McElmurry's 1999 Mercury Mystic crashed head-on into a 2006 Mercury Mariner driven by Tabatha B. Dudley, 22, of Spokane Valley, police said.

Dudley was injured, along with passengers Danielle L. Cowan, 23, of Coeur d'Alene, and Zachary O'Reilly, 25, of Spokane, who both suffered broken bones; McElmurry was treated at a hospital before being booked into jail.

Troopers say McElmurry smelled of alcohol and began to vomit when he woke up in the emergency room. McElmurry said he'd drank alcohol at a party near Altamont and at a home in Cheney. He said he drank six or seven beers beginning around 9:30 p.m. and “admitted that his ability to drive was affected by his alcohol usage.”

McElmurry told troopers he believed he got onto the freeway at Freya Street and said he had no idea he was driving the wrong way.

“The defendant was upset that other people had been injured and started crying,” accoridng to the affidavit

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports today that adults drank too much and got behind the wheel about 112 million times in 2010.

That's 300,000 incidents of drinking and driving each day.

That means, according to CDC Director Thomas R. Frieden that, “nearly 11,000 people are killed every year in crashes that involve an alcohol-impaired driver.” 

• Men were responsible for 81 percent of drinking and driving in 2010.
• Young men, ages 21-34, made up only 11 percent of the U.S. population in 2010, yet were responsible for 32 percent of all episodes of drinking and driving.
•  Eighty-five percent of drinking and driving episodes were reported by people who also reported binge drinking. Binge drinking means five or more drinks for men or four or more drinks for women during a short period of time.

Bottom line: If you've had a few too many, or your friend has, stay out of the car and get the friend out of the car. Lives, literally, will be spared.

A motorist who accidentally hit and killed a close friend on the Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation after dropping him off following a night of drinking avoided prison when she was sentenced in U.S. District Court recently.

 Andrea M. George, 19, will spend 30 days in jail, six months in a halfway house and be on home confinement under a sentence imposed in U.S. District Court in Coeur d'Alene, where she pleaded guilty in July to involuntary manslaughter.

George is to  complete 80 hours of community service and pay $3,000 in restitution. Her license will be suspended for a year.

George had a blood-alcohol level of .151 after the April 19, 2010, crash on Desmet Road at Ajot Road that killed Patrick A. Gourneau, 22, of Tensed, Idaho.

George had let Gourneau out of the car after an argument and was returning to him when she struck him while cresting a hill in a 2002 Honda Civic on Desmet Road just before 6 a.m.

George was airlifted to a Spokane hospital and has undergone several surgeries, according to court documents.
“Andrea often comments that she wishes it was her that had been killed in the accident,” according to a sentencing memorandum prepared by her lawyer, Jim Siebe. “…Andrea cannot remember anything about the accident, which has caused significant nightmares and distress, as her mind naturally tries to fill in the blanks for an event for which she has no memory.”

George is enrolled at North Idaho College and wants to open a bakery, according to the memorandum.
Prosecutors called for George to be sentenced to 30 months in prison, but Siebe said that wasn't necessary.

“Without question, Andrea can do more outside of prison to foster/engender public awareness of the perils of drinking and driving,” according to the memo. “She can show by example that someone can pull herself up by the bootstraps, so to speak, and change a life of unemployment/alcohol abuse to gainful employment, education and productivity.”

George was sentenced Sept. 7.

A Whitworth University student and convicted felon pleaded not guilty Wednesday to vehicular homicide in connection with a crash in East Spokane on Aug. 9 that killed the passenger.

Michael S. Lindsly, 46, appeared before Superior Court Judge Michael Price and was given a trial date of Oct. 17. Deputy Spokane County Prosecutor Stefanie Collins said Lindsly was driving an estimated “70 to 100 mph” in a 35 mph zone when he crashed his 2002 Mercury Sable near the intersection of Alki Way and Broadway Avenue, killing 31-year-old passenger Blair C. Riding.

Lindsly, a 10-time felon who carries a 3.8 grade point average at Whitworth, poses a risk to the community, Collins said.

Price agreed to lower the bond from $100,000 to $75,000, but he ordered Lindsly not to drive while the charge remains pending.

Lindsly is described as a leader in the substance-abuse recovery community.

A Spokane man accused of causing a drunken crash that killed his passenger is a leader in the addiction recovery community and is studying to get his master's degree at Whitworth University, his girlfriend said today.

Michael Shane Lindsly, 46, appeared in Superior Court today via video from the jail, where he was booked after being treated at a hospital for injuries sustained in the Aug. 9 crash.

A vehicular homicide charge was filed against Lindsly on Thursday.

His bail was set at $100,000 today after Judge Michael Price heard from his girlfriend, Lacey Jones. Defense lawyers did not ask for a lower bond.

Lindsly is accused of crashing a 2002 Mercury Sable  and killing Blair C. Riding, 31, while speeding on Broadway Avenue at Alki Way.

Witnesses said the car appeared to be going at least 70 mph. Police say they smelled alcohol in the car and on Lindsly’s breath.

Riding, who was wearing a seat belt, was pronounced dead at the scene.

A man killed in a single-car rollover crash Saturday southeast of Cheney has been identified as Eric Henager, 24.

Detectives have not determined who was driving the 2005 Subaru Outback in which Henager was found dead at 2:22 a.m.  on Cheney-Spangle Road, just south of Curtis Road, Spokane County sheriff's Cpl. Dave Thornburg said late Monday.

Officials say alcohol is believed to be a factor.

Mark Russo, 24, of Cameron Park, Calif., was injured in the crash, but officials don't know who was driving, Thornburg said.

Detectives hope two women who were given a ride home from the men just before the crash will come forward, as well as anyone else who may have been the vehicle that night.

Thornburg believes the men were coming from either Wild Bill's Longbar or Goofy's Tavern in Cheney before dropping the women off, Thornburg said. Anyone with information is asked to call Thornburg at (509) 477-2710.

A suspected drunken driver caused a brief power outage in Spokane Valley this morning after he struck a power pole and three parked cars.

Nathaniel Lewis, 26, was speeding westbound on 8th Avenue when he lost control in the 12900 block about 3:12 a.m. and hit the power pole, then hit a parked Chevy Tahoe before striking two other parked cars in a driveway at 12924 E. 8th Ave., according to the Spokane Valley Police Department

Neighbors reported seeing Lewis trying to escape into a backyard, but a resident told him to return to the car. He did so, police say, but only to awake his passenger, Lucas Remington, 32, who was initially knocked unconscious. Lewis and Remington fled, but police located them a short while later.

Lewis had a felony warrant out of Ellensburg for third-degree assault, and Remington was wanted for possession of drugs with intent to deliver. Both men were treated for minor injuries at the Valley hospital.

Lewis was arrested for drunken driving; a blood sample is expected to take six weeks to process. Both men were booked into jail.

(AP) OLYMPIA — As of Friday, Washington motorists arrested for DUI will also have their vehicle impounded.

The new state law requires a 12-hour hold be placed on cars driven by suspected drunk drivers.

One of the major reasons behind the law is that many jails don't have the room to hold DUI suspects overnight, and are often forced to release them while they are still intoxicated.

“This is about making sure that impaired drivers don't return to their cars and drive again before they've sobered up,” said State Patrol Chief John R. Batiste. “This isn't about trying to punish someone for driving drunk. If they're found guilty that will become the court's job.”

The three exceptions to the DUI impound law are:

* If the vehicle is owned by someone other than the arrested person, such as a business owner, the owner may reclaim the car at the tow lot.

* A registered co-owner may go to the tow company and redeem the vehicle.

* Commercial or farm transport vehicles reclaimed by a legal owner who is not the arrested subject. Commercial and farm transport vehicles are the only types that can be released at the site of the arrest.

Drivers who don't meet these exceptions will be allowed to retrieve their vehicle from impound 12 hours after their arrest.

A Spokane man who injured a state trooper in a crash on Interstate 90 three years ago is wanted on a felony drunken driving charge.

William David Zink, 32, was charged last month, nearly one year after a sheriff's deputy pulled him over for speeding on East Broadway Avenue and observed slurred speech, poor balance and the smell of alcohol.

Zink failed sobriety tests and provided breath samples that showed blood-alcohol levels of .202 and .189, according to court documents. The legal limit for driving is .08.

Zink was sentenced to 15 months in prison for causing a car crash in August 2008 that injured state Trooper Allen Larned and a driver who had been stopped by Larned. Having a felony conviction for vehicular homicide or vehicular assault while intoxicated means any future drunken driving arrests are felony cases.

Crime Stoppers offered a reward Monday for tips that lead to the arrest of Zink, whose criminal hsitory includes convictions for reckless driving, driving while license suspended, vehicular assault, violation of a court order, failure to cooperate, first-degree possession of stolen property, first-degree theft, third-degree theft, domestic violence assault and DUI.

Zink, 5-foot-11 and 145 pounds, last gave a home address in the 7600 block of East Broadway in Spokane Valley.

Anyone with information on his current location is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS or submit tips online.

A chronic drunken driving suspect was arrested on new drug charges early today. 

A warrant already had been issued for James L. Crabtree after he was caught driving on July 3, which violates his release conditions on drug and DUI charges from his last arrest April 22.

A sheriff's deputy arrested Crabtree, 50, in Spokane Valley about 4 a.m. today after an anonymous caller reported Crabtree as a possible domestic violence suspect.

Deputies learned of his arrest warrant and located him at 10500 E. Broadway Ave., where they say he had a cigarette pack with meth and a glass pipe with burnt methamphetamine residue.

Crabtree, a real estate agent, told police he uses meth, according to court documents.

Public defender Kevin Griffin asked for Crabtree to be released or for his bond to be lowered because of his strong community ties and diligence in showing up for court.

But Deputy Prosecutor Mary Doran said Crabtree's problem “is not so much failure to appear as it is failure to comply.”

Superior Court Judge Kathleen O'Connor agreed and imposed a bond of $25,000 for both cases. He also has $100 bond for a driving while suspended charge.

“Mr. Crabtree has apparently some serious drugs issues and also apparently some serious driving issues,” O'Connor said.

It's Crabtree's third felony arrest since November, when he was picked up on suspicion of drunken driving after motorists noticed him passing out at the wheel of his car.

Police found an open can of Four Loko in the car, but his blood-alcohol level was under the legal limit for driving, and he hasn't been charged.

Then in April, he was arrested on drug and DUI charges after an early-morning traffic stop.

Also, in January, Crabtree, who was a Spokane County sheriff's deputy in the 1980s, was assaulted in a home-invasion robbery in which two assailants demanded “dope and money,” according to court documents.

Crabtree was convicted of vehicular assault in 2003 for causing a crash that nearly killed sheriff's Lt. Earl Howerton. That conviction means any DUI arrests are felony cases.

A Spokane man accused of causing a crash that killed his passenger turned himself into police Tuesday, one day after a reward was offered for tips that led to his arrest.

 Lyle David Eutsler, 26, is to appear in  Spokane County Superior Court today via video from the jail, where he is being held on a vehicular homicide charge.

Investigators believe Eutsler was intoxicated and speeding in February when he crashed his red Mazda MX6 into a pine tree while eastbound on Magnesium Road approaching Market Street.

Deputies arrived to find Eutsler dragging himself away from the driver's door while two women remained trapped inside the crumpled car.

One, 42-year-old Tina L. Patterson, died of her injures about 45 minutes later.

Eutsler was charged this month after toxicology reports showed his blood-alcohol level to be .12 and indicated he'd recently smoked marijuana.

A reward is being offered for tips that help arrest a man accused of causing a one-car crash in February that killed a passenger.

Lyle David Eutsler, 26, was intoxicated and speeding when he crashed his red Mazda MX6 into a pine tree while eastbound on Magnesium Road approaching Market Street, according to the Spokane County Sheriff's Office.

Deputies arrived to find Eutsler dragging himself away from the driver's door while two women remained trapped inside the crumpled car. One, 42-year-old Tina L. Patterson, died of her injures about 45 minutes later.

According to court documents, passenger Emilee Odell told police she was at a party when Eutsler and Patterson showed up and said they had a new car. She said Tina told Lyle he was driving too fast and that just before the crash, Tina yelled “Lyle!”

Odell was in the front passenger seat and suffered minor injures, but Patterson was in the back seat and sustained severe head trauma.

Police said Eutsler, who they estimate was driving 56-59 mph in the 35 mph zone, smelled of alcohol and had to be physically restrained in a harness at the Sacred Heart Medical Center emergency room because he was yelling and out of control. He later told a detective he wasn't driving and asked “How could I f***ing be driving when I was lying on the ground with broken ribs?”

A felony charge of vehicular homicide was filed against Eutsler this month after toxicology reports showed his blood-alcohol level to be .12 and indicated he'd recently smoked marijuana.

Eutsler's estranged wife, who has two children with him, told police he'd said he was going to leave the state. Police believe he may be driving a black 1987 Ford Thunderbird with Washington license plate ABP4206. They believe he may be staying on friends' couches and selling plasma for money.

Eutsler’s parents live in the 1000 block of East Olympic. He has a best friend that lives on Wabash somewhere near the Northtown Mall, and his wife (possibly ex-wife) lives in the 7100 block of East Ninth in Spokane Valley, according to the Spokane County Sheriff's Office.

Anyone with information regarding Lyle Eutsler’s whereabouts is encouraged to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS or submit tips online.

The Associated Press reported today that Ryan Dunn of reality show Jackass fame was really drink when he died in a car accident last week.

Accoring to AP: Dunn's blood-alcohol level was 0.196 at the time of the crash early Monday morning. The report was released Wednesday by West Goshen Township Police.The legal limit for drivers in the state is .08.Police say Dunn may have been going as fast as 140 mph when his Porsche veered off the roadway, went airborne and crashed into the woods in a Philadelphia suburb.

Because of this column, and the number of older people in my family right now, including a 90-year-old mother, I sometimes find myself in conversations about the “best” way to die.

Dying while drunk has never been a top choice. Very sad, this story.

(AP photo of Ryan Dunn)

By KEITH RIDLER, Associated Press
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho Senate Republican Caucus Chairman John McGee was arrested early Sunday after police say he took a Ford Excursion and cargo trailer from the Boise home of a “complete stranger” and a blood-alcohol test showed the four-term lawmaker had been drinking.  

The lawyer for the 38-year-old senator, who represents Caldwell and is the head of the Canyon County GOP, says McGee is embarrassed by the situation and intends to handle his legal case responsibly.

McGee was being held in the Ada County Jail pending an arraignment in 4th District Court on Monday afternoon. Authorities say he was taken into custody on suspicion of felony grand theft and misdemeanor driving under the influence after a breath test found he had a blood-alcohol content of 0.15 percent, nearly twice the legal limit in Idaho.

“He is embarrassed by this matter. He has never been in this situation before, but he has great confidence in the criminal justice system,” said attorney Scott McKay, who met with McGee on Sunday. “With the love and support of his family, he will handle this matter responsibly,” McKay said in a statement.

So far, police have released only a few details of events preceding McGee's arrest. But Lt. Kody Aldrich told The Associated Press that McGee did not know the owner of the SUV and trailer that he was driving and later was found by police sleeping inside. The vehicle and trailer became stuck as McGee tried backing into the yard of a home on southwest Boise. It was also unclear why McGee was in the Boise area in Ada County.

“Nobody knows why he was there,” Aldrich said. “It doesn't sound like he did either.”

Aldrich said McGee told officers he was on his way to Jackpot, Nev. Police were alerted of McGee's actions by people who lived inside the home.

Aldrich said the vehicle's owner typically left the keys in the steering column and the doors unlocked.

Because McGee faces a potential felony charge, he will be held in jail until he goes before a judge, Aldrich said.

Messages left by the AP at McGee's home and cell phone were not returned Sunday.

Idaho Senate Pro Tem Brent Hill, R-Rexburg, expressed support and said the immediate concern is for his colleague and his family.

“We feel really bad about the situation and how it may affect his wife and family,” Hill, the GOP leader of the Senate, told the AP. “Our concerns right now are to help him and his family out any way we can. We just want to make sure things work out for John and his family.”

Aldrich said McGee jackknifed the SUV and trailer attempting to back up, entering a yard and becoming stuck. Aldrich said the trailer and vehicle sustained minor damage, and that McGee was not injured.

McGee, who is married and has a daughter, in 2006 was named the Idaho Young Republican of the Year and Republican Legislator of the Year. He is pictured left in April 2009.

The senator from District 10 is the marketing director for West Valley Medical Center. He serves on the three Legislative committees: local government and taxation, state affairs, and transportation.

In the last Legislative session, McGee supported Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter's “Hire one Act” that offers employers tax credits as a way to encourage them to add more workers. McGee also supported a bonds-for-highways plan called “Connecting Idaho” intended to maintain Idaho's roads and bridges.

Also last session he introduced a bill requiring underage drivers to take safety training as part of a compromise to fend off road closures and maintain public access following a U.S. Forest Service plan to close some roads to all-terrain vehicles amid safety concerns over underage drivers.

McGee also supported a measure giving immunity from lawsuits to doctors who recommend that a patient's driver's license be revoked, arguing doctors must be allowed to recommend drastic action without fear of legal repercussions. McGee also supported legislation to ban texting while driving.

A motorist who killed a pedestrian while drunk on the Coeur d’Alene Indian Reservation last year has pleaded guilty.

 Andrea M. George, 19, faces up to eight years in prison, a $250,000 fine and no more than three years probation for the April 19, 2010, crash on Desmet Road at Ajot Road that killed Patrick A. Gourneau, 22, of Tensed, Idaho.

Gourneau was walking when George struck him while cresting a hill in a 2002 Honda Civic on Desmet Road just before 6 a.m.

George was airlifted to a Spokane hospital but has since recovered. She was indicted by a grand jury for involuntary manslaughter in November.

She's to be sentenced Sept. 7 in U.S. District Court in Coeur d'Alene.

A man who has survived three one-car crashes on the same road near Plummer, Idaho, has been sentenced to three years in prison for involuntary manslaughter.

Joseph Michael Matt, Jr., 26, of Worley, was speeding and under the influence of alcohol and methamphetamine in August 2009 when he lost control of his 1997 Jeep Cherokee and left Lovell Valley Road in Benewah County road, killing William “Sonny” A. Davison, 22, of Desmet.

Matt (pictured) has been in two other crashes on Lovell Valley Road but was not driving in either. A federal grand jury indicted Matt, a member of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, for the Aug. 18, 2009, crash last June.

He pleaded guilty in November and was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Coeur d’Alene. In addition to 36 months in prison, Matt is to be on probation for three years after his release and is to pay $5,707.66 to cover Davison's funeral costs.

U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge said Matt had prior convictions for driving under the influence, and that the case “called out for deterrents.”

Lodge said he needed to “send a message that drinking and driving will not be tolerated because they result in tragedies like this one,” according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office..