A sex offender captured after being featured on America's Most Wanted last year will spend at least 20 years in prison.Donald L. Fritzsche, 34, pleaded guilty to one count of lewd conduct with a minor under 16 in a Shoshone County District Court plea agreement…
MAUSTON, Wis. (AP) — A religious leader accused of hiding the body of a dead follower in a bathroom to keep her social security checks rolling in faces sentencing in Mauston Wednesday.Fifty-nine-year-old Alan Bushey (boo-SHAY') of Necedah (neh-SEE'-dah) pleaded no contest to one count of…
A college student accused of raping another student is on trial this week in Spokane County Superior Court. Opening statements were today in the case of Kevin A. Thompson, who's charged with second-degree rape for an alleged attack at a home in the Whitworth University…
The Spokane County Commission unanimously approved a $425,000 settlement today for the children of a man who died following a struggle with jailers. Benites S. Sichiro suffered multiple Taser shocks, was beaten unconscious and struck with jailer’s “donkey kick” before the 39-year-old died of a…
A Spokane sex offender will spend the rest of his life in prison for his role in a child pornography enterprise that triggered a worldwide criminal investigation, a judge ruled Tuesday. Warren King Mumpower, 65, was the last of seven defendants from across the country…
At today's quarterly media meeting, Spokane County Sheriff's Office representatives showed off the thermal imaging capabilities of their helicopter. Those capabilities help in suspect chases and missing person cases, as seen above. The first video shows a suspect being apprehended in north Spokane back in…
The legal saga continued today for a couple police believe plotted to murder the woman's husband then concocted a sordid tale of abuse in an attempt to dupe investigators into thinking the killing was self-defense. The state filed its response today in Spokane County Superior…
When a Western Washington real estate owner died in a freak skydiving accident in Texas last year, his children felt his Spokane assets were in good hands.The couple in charge had worked for Rex Williams for eight years, and his family needed someone trustworthy to…
A Stevens County man who killed his girlfriend after she broke up with him will spend the next 20 years in prison. Preston Lee Rogers, 43, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced on July 14, one year after Cheryl Lynn Hayward's family reported…
Police couldn't figure out how he did it. In a Houdini-like disappearance 12 years ago, a handcuffed suspected burglar walked out of the interrogation room and out the door of the public safety building. It was the first escape in 25 years, but what happened…
When a Spokane businesswoman joined the Spokane Country Club nine years ago, she drew curious looks when she played in a members-only tournament dominated by men. 'The next year, she claims, the pricey private club changed the tournament to a men’s-only tournament, previewing years of…
A search warrant filed today in Spokane County District Court reveals new details about a bizarre carjacking that led to the death of one of the suspects in a fiery car crash last month. Marjorie A. "Amy" Harrigan, 24, died when she was thrown from…
A man who injured a pedestrian in a hit and run crash in Post Falls was arrested for drunken driving shortly after the incident, but officers didn't connect him to the crime until hours later, according to the Post Falls Police Department. Jade R. Spann,…
An Alabama man who traveled to Eastern Washington to have sex with a 14-year-old girl he met through an interactive video game was sentenced to nine years in federal prison this week. Morgan D. Jones, 28, wasn't too difficult for authorities to find - he…
A prominent Coeur d'Alene businessman was cited for drunken driving and public urination after a two-car crash in Coeur d'Alene Tuesday night. John Beutler (shown above in a 2006 photo) was booked into Kootenai County Jail and bonded out, police said. He's the owner of…
A man accused of having sex with two men without telling them he has the virus that causes AIDS is considering pleading insanity. Zuriel E. Roush, 22, appeared before Spokane County Superior Court Judge Ellen Kalama Clark today on a second charge of first-degree assault,…
POULSBO, Wash. (AP) — The Washington State Patrol says a one-armed man driving a scooter led police on chase in Kitsap County on Tuesday.State Patrol spokeswoman Krista Hedstrom says the 28-year-old man from Poulsbo, Wash., reached speeds of 80 miles per hour on the highway.…
A Rathdrum man pulled over for speeding Tuesday gave a Spokane Valley police officer good reason to be suspicious: he claimed to have been born on Nov. 31. Knowing that “30 days hath September, April, June, and November,” (Officer Jack) Rosenthal arrested the man for…
After a relatively quiet period, Spokane has seen a surge in pharmacy robberies. At least three robberies and one attempted robbery have occurred since the beginning of June. Nicholas A. Blessing, 28, (right), who's accused of stealing OxyContin from the Walgreens at 2105 E. Wellesley…
The FBI is asking for help finding a man who may be in Coeur d'Alene but is wanted for assault in Missouri.Trenton Michael Faulkner, 20, is accused of hitting a man in the head with a bottle of vodka after being asked to leave a…
A man who convinced his girlfriend he was a covert military agent and swindled thousands of dollars to fund his gambling habit will spend the next six months in jail. The woman felt so bad about her bank losing money she repaid them. Now her…
Know of an animal fighting operation in the Inland Northwest or elsewhere? A national tip line launched recently by the Humane Society of the United States wants to hear from you. The organization started the tip line after busting a multi-state dogfighting ring. Read a…
A lot happened in the past two weeks, and I'm still catching up. Most notable is two homicides. Seven months into a year with an unusually low murder rate, the city recorded two homicides in one week: the stabbing death of Vitaly M. Shevchuk, 24,…
A man accused of having unprotected sex without telling his partner his was HIV positive faces an additional first-degree assault charge after the family of his former lover recognized him in news reports of his arrest, according to court papers filed recently in Spokane County…
Grant County officials reported few problems at the Coldplay concert Saturday at the Gorge Amphitheatre. More than 20,000 people attended the concert, which the Grant County Sheriff's Office described as "a very enjoyable concert experience." "The biggest issue reported was a traffic delay on the…