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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Sirens & Gavels archive for Jan. 1, 2010

THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2010

Lt. Jones: Over the limit, under arrest

A Spokane County Sheriff’s lieutenant arrested after an early-morning rollover crash was legally drunk when he was driving, according to newly filed court documents. Stephen P. Jones, 53, was charged this week with drunken driving for the Jan. 8 crash in Liberty Lake. A summons…

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2010

Spokane police Officer Glenn Bartlett patrols around the Browne's Addition neighborhood, Nov. 5, 2009 with an electronic license plate reader, which scans plates for stolen vehicles reported in a national database. The cameras are mounted atop his patrol car. DAN PELLE danp@spokesman.com (Dan Pelle / The Spokesman-Review)

Officer finds 9 stolen vehicles in 5 days

An off-duty Spokane police officer is to credit for finding a stolen vehicle Tuesday - the ninth stolen car he's recovered in the past five days.Officer Glenn Bartlett was on his way home when he spotted a black Nissan Pathfinder reported stolen earlier in the…

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Drug-addicted ATM thief gets 2 years

A longtime felon will serve about two years in prison for a rash of ATM thefts in early 2009 that the court ruled was driven by his drug addiction. Keith G. Simpson, 44, was sentenced to 25 months in prison after pleading guilty to five…

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2 men sought in gunpoint home invasion

Two men held another man at gunpoint in his Spokane apartment last night while demanding drugs, according to the Spokane Police Department. Now the SWAT team is looking for the suspects, Taveus M. Brown (left), 30; and Wesley I. Veazie (right), 22. The SWAT team…

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Suspect's roomie accused of selling Oxy

The former roommate of a man charged with robbing two pharmacies for OxyContin last fall is accused of selling the drug but hasn't been located by police. Crime Stoppers is offering a reward for tips that help arrest Dalen J. McMillon, 27. McMillon (right) is…

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Dementia patient missing from care center

UPDATE: Harris was located in Pend Oreille County. Spokane Valley police are asking for help locating a dementia patient missing from Sunshine House at 10412 E. Ninth since 2 p.m. Tuesday. Robert D. Harris may have suffered a stroke some time in the past. He…

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Loaded gun seized by courthouse security

A Spokane woman was arrested today after she tried to bring a loaded gun to a court hearing on a domestic violence charge.Stacey L. Atkins, 22, was cited for two misdemeanor and released after security at the Spokane County Courthouse founded the Bersa .380-caliber semi-automatic…

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Ronald Reo Timm is led into court Thursday in the Spokane County Courthouse for his civil commitment trial. Timm is a sex offender who has admitted to molesting 24 victims. (Jesse Tinsley)

Jury orders child molester locked up

Child molester Ronald Reo Timm should be locked up indefinitely because he’s a predator who poses a danger to society, a Spokane jury decided today. Assistant Attorney General Tricia Boerger gave the state’s final argument Tuesday before the jury, made up of nine men and…

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MONDAY, MARCH 1, 2010

You write the headline

Meghann returns later this week.Meantime, here's an Associated Press story that's been getting a lot of attention online, and in the social media networks:MONTESANO, Wash. (AP) — An Elma man was killed by accidentally urinating on a downed power line after a one-car crash near…

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FRIDAY, FEB. 26, 2010

Cole Strandberg is escorted from the Spokane County Jail to his hearing in Superior Court Judge Tari Eitzen's courtroom Thursday Feb. 4, 2010. (Colin Mulvany / The Spokesman-Review)

Spokane jail on cable TV: 'The horror is real'

It was the Spokane County Jail's time to shine last night on the cable TV show "Behind Bars."The hour-long episode on the Discovery Channel featured a belligerent Army sergeant arrested for suspected drunken driving, an accused armed robber trying to overdose, a man arrested in…

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Witness in next month's murder trial jailed

A key witness in an upcoming murder trial is in jail after investigators say she broke contact with them.Colleen Sue Janson, 49, was booked just after midnight Friday on a $100,000 material witness warrant out of Spokane County Superior Court, and a misdemeanor warrant for…

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Wedding crasher now has jail date

She showed up at weddings uninvited, mingled with guests and never left empty-handed. But a Spokane woman’s wedding-crashing scheme unraveled last summer when an old high school classmate – and off-duty police officer – recognized her at a wedding where she wasn’t an invited guest.…

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Ronald Reo Timm is led into court Thursday in the Spokane County Courthouse for his civil commitment trial. Timm is a sex offender who has admitted to molesting 24 victims. (Jesse Tinsley)

A child molester with a method

A jury will decide next week whether Ronald Reo Timm will ever get out of state custody. But the question remains: How does someone molest 24 children in Spokane over a period of two decades and essentially remain out of public view?The answer, according to…

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THURSDAY, FEB. 25, 2010

Police: Hit-and-run driver targeted victim

A pedestrian struck on by a car on the lower South Hill this week was targeted, Spokane police said Thursday.The 32-year-old pedestrian, whose identity has not been released by police, was struck at 12:22 p.m. on Monday at South Oak Street and West 10th Avenue.Detectives…

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3 teens charged as adults in shooting

Three juveniles arrested in a shooting in downtown Cheney early Sunday will be charged as adults.Trevien M. Mims, 17; Damon M. Morris, 17; and Clovy Jaramillo, 16, appeared in Spokane County Superior Court Thursday on charges of drive-by shooting, first-degree assault and riot.The boys, along…

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This surveillance photo is from a robbery on Tuesday in Coeur d'Alene at the Washington Trust Bank. (Coeur d'Alene Police Department)

Another bank robbery suspect nabbed

A man suspected of bank robbery in Coeur d'Alene has been accused of robbing two Spokane financial institutions. Michael R. Kent, 38, appeared in Spokane County Superior Court Thursday on one count of first-degree bank robbery in connection with a Dec. 16 heist at Chase…

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A man robbed a bank inside an east Spokane grocery store on Monday, Feb. 22, 2010.
The robber entered the Banner Bank at Safeway, 933 E. Mission, about 5:26 p.m. and left with cash. 
He's described as 5-foot-5 to 5-foot-8 and wore a dark, puffy Carhart jacket. (Spokane Police Department)

Robbery suspect arrested outside bank

A man suspected of robbing an east Spokane bank this week was arrested Thursday after police said he appeared to be staking out a different bank.Douglas E. Labish, 34, is accused of robbing Banner Bank inside the Safeway grocery store at 933 E. Mission on…

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No poison found in latest meatballs

No poison was detected in meat found in a Spokane woman's yard in the 900 block of East 36th Ave. on Monday, the Spokane Regional Animal Protection Service announced today. But strychnine, most likely from a gopher control pesticide, was found in meatballs picked up…

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3 arrested in Pullman-Spokane crime spree

A drug and stolen property crime spree was uncovered early Tuesday when a Spokane County sheriff's deputy stopped to check on a stranded SUV.Investigators think 24-year-old Yan Yefremov - who had been out of jail on bail in another case - and James W. Peterschick,…

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Spokane sex offender captured in Indiana

Spokane County Sheriff's investigators will fly to the Indiana next week to bring a sex offender back to Spokane County. Michael Lee Williams, 30, (left) was convicted of first-degree child molestation in 1991 and 1992, then arrested Feb. 17 in Lawrence County, In., on a…

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WEDNESDAY, FEB. 24, 2010

Disbarred lawyer arraigned in Spokane

A disbarred Spokane lawyer on the run for more than a decade pleaded not guilty Wednesday to an accusation that he stole money from a dead client’s estate. Claude K. Irwin, Jr. appeared in Spokane County Superior Court on Wednesday through a video feed from…

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2 bars cited for over-serving in triple fatal

Two downtown bars were cited by the state Liquor Control Board for over-serving a man who, while drunken driving, allegedly caused a fatal accident on Interstate 90 in December. The driver, Sterling N. Kruger, 22, of Davenport, Wash., died after entering the eastbound highway going…

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Imprisoned physician's aide gets probation

An assistant to a physician serving time in federal prison for overprescribing drugs to patients will be on probation for the next three years. Steven M. Featherkile, of Deer Park, pleaded guilty to three counts of making fraudulent reimbursement claims to Medicaid in an agreement…

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