Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Sirens & Gavels archive for Aug. 2009

TUESDAY, AUG. 11, 2009

On July 11th, a Spokane man had his wallet stolen and in it was a check made out to him as payee.  He alerted the woman who wrote him the check of the theft and she in turn alerted her bank. 
    On July 16th, a man entered the Washington Trust Bank branch at 407 N. Sullivan and attempted to cash the stolen check using the victim’s stolen identification.  The bank did not cash the check, but it did cache his image in their security system. 
    Anyone with information regarding the suspect’s identity is encouraged to call Crime Check at 456-2233. 
 (Spokane Valley Police Department)

Man caught on camera with stolen check 

Police say the man pictured above tried cashing a stolen check on July 16 using a identification from a wallet stolen five days earlier. Employees at Washington Trust Bank, 407 N. Sullivan Road, didn't cash the check but found the man's image in their security…

Continue reading this post »

MONDAY, AUG. 10, 2009


Medicaid fraud gets woman 2 1/2 years

A Spokane woman who defrauded the Idaho Medicaid program of more than $200,000 will spend 2 1/2 years in prison. Candace J. Elmer, 53, operated a psychosocial rehabilitation center, Behavioral Intervention Services, which illegally billed Medicaid for services Elmer didn’t provide or wasn’t authorized to…

Continue reading this post »


Two accused of bachelor party brawl released

The wedding will go on.A judge today ordered a groom released on his own recognizance after his bachelor party turned into a bar brawl early Sunday.Groom Brandon N. Peterson, 27, and Shad E. Armstead, 22, were released from Spokane County Jail this evening after appearing…

Continue reading this post »


Courthouse watch: 8.10.09

If it seems like just last week that Thomas Clouse was reporting on a former Spokesman-Review employee being sentenced for a sex-related crime, that's because it was.Here's Clouse's report on the sentencing of a former employee of The Spokesman-Review, who received a 12-month suspended sentence…

Continue reading this post »


Aryans move to Athol

Not that there's ever an appropriate place for the Aryan Nations, but if they're going to insist on calling a North Idaho town home, a place called Athol seems a bit fitting. (This is not an affront to the fine people of the tiny town…

Continue reading this post »

FRIDAY, AUG. 7, 2009


Courthouse watch: 8.7.09

A landlord shot to death by a tenant in Coeur d'Alene two years ago should have been trained on how to deal with dangerous renters, a lawsuit filed this week claims. Bette Fears, 67, died Aug. 8, 2007, when Evelyn Botto (right), 44, shot her…

Continue reading this post »


Girl admits to killing father 

A teenage girl has admitted to killing her father in his Spokane home last year. Jacqueline A. Wortham, 18, faces 22 years to life in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree murder. Her sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 16. Daniel Wortham, 39, lived with his…

Continue reading this post »

THURSDAY, AUG. 6, 2009

'A threat to the administration of justice' 

The prosecution calls him “a threat to the administration of justice.” His lawyer says he’s the victim of a civil dispute turned media circus. Whatever the case, the legal problems for a Spokane bail bondsman accused of forcing a customer to give him thousands of…

Continue reading this post »


Courthouse watch: 8.6.09

The former security supervisor for The Spokesman-Review pleaded guilty today to three sexual assault charges that could keep him in prison for life. Robert J. Robel, 61, (right) pleaded guilty to first-degree rape of a child, second-degree rape of a child and first-degree child molestation.…

Continue reading this post »


WEDNESDAY, AUG. 5, 2009

Marijuana grow gets man 6 years in prison 

A Mexican man will spend more than six years in prison for operating a large marijuana grow that did more than $10,000 damage to the Okanogan National Forest, according to the U.S attorney's office. Moyses Mesa-Barajas, 43, was arrested last August after federal and state…

Continue reading this post »


Courthouse watch: 8.5.09

A 21-year-old Spokane man pleaded not guilty today to second-degree rape of a woman who said she was sexually assaulted at a party.Here's Thomas Clouse's report: "Anthony J. Wilson appeared before Superior Court Judge Ellen Kalama Clark, who ordered a sexual assault protection order against…

Continue reading this post »


Department of Corrections prison cell phones (Colin Mulvany / The Spokesman-Review)

'If it were legal'

The Washington Department of Corrections has joined agencies in more than two dozen states in calling on the Federal Communications Commission to allow cell phone signals to be jammed in prisons. Shortly after that was announced, the DOC scheduled media events to demonstrate how DOC…

Continue reading this post »

TUESDAY, AUG. 4, 2009

Boyfriend of Resort victim ran for Idaho Senate

Check out my story here for new information on the tragic death at the Coeur d'Alene Resort last week. UPDATE: Hambrice's blood-alcohol level was .23, police said Wednesday. The article includes comments from a colleague of Lynea M. Sprung Hambrice at Louisiana State University. What…

Continue reading this post »


Courthouse watch: 8.4.09 

The defendant seemed disgruntled as he said "not guilty" after each charge. "Almost done," his public defender whispered to David L. "Cowboy Dave" Harwood, 39. It took Harwood saying "not guilty" 19 times, but eventually his arraignment for a bust connected to a major Sheriff's…

Continue reading this post »

MONDAY, AUG. 3, 2009

Alleged groping incident caught on tape

A woman who claims a Coeur d’Alene police officer groped her during a drunken driving arrest last summer has video of the interaction from a police cruiser’s dash camera.But what the 45-minute video (a segment is posted above) means for the lawsuit filed by Coeur…

Continue reading this post »


Courthouse watch: 8.3.09

A man accused of raping a woman in north Spokane was arrested on a similar charge last year but cleared after a jury couldn't reach a verdict. Justin L. Dehn, 22, remains in Spokane County Jail on $25,000 bail after appearing in Superior Court on…

Continue reading this post »


Another prison term, but for real this time

A Shoshone County man who filled his computer with thousands of videos of children being sexually abused will spend the next 10 years in federal prison. Kenneth Jack Hendryx, 58, of Silverton, Idaho, pleaded guilty to possessing sexually explicit images of minors in March and…

Continue reading this post »

Public safety news from the Inland Northwest and beyond.




Blog Archives

Aug. 2009
31 28 27 26 25
24 21 20 19 18
17 14 13 12 11
10 07 06 05 04
03