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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Sirens & Gavels archive for Jan. 1, 2010

MONDAY, JAN. 25, 2010

Doctor on trial for overprescribing 

The second trial of a former Shoshone County doctor accused of overprescribing drugs is set to begin this week in U.S. District Court in Coeur d'Alene. Christopher Arthur Christensen faces three counts of prescribing methadone, hydrocodone and/or alprazolam, an anti-anxiety drug, "outside the scope of…

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Raid had 'toothless' connection

A sheriff's raid last week that sought guns stolen from a firearms collector has a connection to the suspected toothless burglar. Kevin McMaster reportedly told sheriff's detectives that he'd stolen guns, tools, coin sets and stamps from Kerry Miller's Newport Highway home with Victor Hackett.…

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Police: Gun in homicide belonged to felon

A gang member involved in a fatal shooting five years ago is accused of possessing the gun that was used to kill a man outside a north Spokane party 10 days ago, newly filed documents alleged. ahdwEric Burton Jr.,Ö is charged with illegal weapons possession…

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Prisoner loses battle to play D&D

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A man serving life in prison for first-degree intentional homicide lost his legal battle Monday to play Dungeons & Dragons behind bars.Kevin T. Singer filed a federal lawsuit against officials at Wisconsin’s Waupun prison, arguing that a policy banning all Dungeons…

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Accused robbers due in court today

A man and a woman arrested after homeowner reported fighting with one during a burglary early Sunday are due in Spokane County Superior Court today.Cody J. Wolk, 24, and Peta N. Schimanski, 24, are to appear in court via video feed from the Spokane County…

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FRIDAY, JAN. 22, 2010

Plea deals reveal drug ring details

Several Spokane businesses were fronts for a multimillion dollar marijuana distribution ring busted after a four-year investigation that involved a Massachusetts donut shop, tens of thousands of tapped phone calls and a car crash that revealed a $130,000 cash stash, new documents allege. The operation…

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2nd suspect named in hold up

A man police think was involved in a recent espresso stand robbery with a suspected toothless burglar has been identified as Jeremy L. Hubbard, 37. Hubbard is wanted for first-degree robbery. He was last seen driving a 1994 silver 4-door Ford Taurus with Washington license…

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Jury convicts 24-time felon in 24 minutes 

It took a Spokane jury as many minutes as the defendant has felonies to convict him this week of two more crimes. Sean M. Maney, 45, was taken to jail Thursday after Judge Tari Eitzen read guilty verdicts on residential burglary and attempted theft of…

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THURSDAY, JAN. 21, 2010

Accused killer backs out of deal

A man arrested in a fatal stabbing last year turned down a plea deal today that would have sent him to prison for two years on riot charges. Instead, Christopher Harper, 28, will go to trial on one count of second-degree murder for the March…

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Canadian pot smugglers: We're guilty

Two Canadian men who smuggled marijuana into Ferry County last fall pleaded guilty to three federal drug charges today. William Richard Paterson, 50, and Jahrum David Oakes, 32, both of Kelowna B.C, pleaded guilty to three counts of possession with intent to distribute 50 kilograms…

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Trial set for Elton on threat charges 

A man accused of threatening to kill City Council President Joe Shogan and the chairwoman of the company that owns The Spokesman-Review will go to trial in April, a judge ruled today. David H. Elton, who turns 44 on Friday, is charged with three counts…

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Toothless burglar's accomplice sought

Spokane police are looking for a second suspect in the recent robbery of a north Spokane espresso stand that's been tied to a suspected toothless burglar. Shawn Michael Westlie, 44, was arrested after a standoff Friday and charged with multiple counts of first-degree armed robbery…

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Big day in Boys' Ranch abuse trial

An unexpected witness may testify that former Morning Star Boys’ Ranch director Joseph Weitensteiner had him procure boys for sex and then gave him money to keep it quiet years later, according to a motion today in the first sex-abuse trial against the ranch. The…

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Uriah Brosnan is led from the courtroom following his sentence on Jan. 21, 2010. Brosnan will serve 18 years in prison for the murder of his estranged wife, Becky. (KHQ)

Wife killer in MySpace case gets 18 years

A Spokane man who killed his estranged wife, then impersonated her on MySpace to try duping family members into thinking she was still alive, will spend 18 years in prison, a judge ruled today. Uriah J. Brosnan, 34, (pictured above, courtesy KHQ) pleaded guilty to…

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WEDNESDAY, JAN. 20, 2010

Anthony D. Singh, 21, is escorted out of court on Jan. 20, 2010. Singh faces about 16 years in prison for a shooting in a downtown parking lot in July 2008 that didn't injure anyone but made his Crips gang affiliation a focus of the jury trial. He was convicted of several felonies, including second-degree assault and drive-by shooting. (Meghann M. Cuniff / The Spokesman-Review)

'This isn't a time for just yakking'

Sentencing for a Spokane man was delayed today after a judge demanded more information from the defense. Anthony D. Singh, 21, faces about 16 to 18 years in prison for a shooting in a downtown parking lot that didn't injure anyone but brought his gang…

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Cocaine dealer gets 8 years

A 27-year-old Hayden man will spend at least three years in prison for selling cocaine. Logan M. Young was sentenced to eight years in prison on Wednesday, with eligibility for parole after three years, the Kootenai County Prosecutor's Office announced today. He's to pay a…

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CdA meth dealer gets 15 years

A Coeur d'Alene methamphetamine dealer was sentenced to more than 15 years in prison in U.S. District Court recently. Paul D. Hartman, 44, was given 188 months in prison and four years probation by Judge B. Lynn Winnill on Friday, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced…

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18 ounces of meth seized in traffic stop

Sheriff's deputies seized 18 ounces of methamphetamine in a traffic stop near the Northern Quest Casino parking lot early Tuesday. A 41-year-old Ritzville man was arrested along with a 19-year-old woman who was with him in his Mazda 626. A deputy monitoring the casino parking…

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Boys' ranch trial enters day 2

Either Morning Star Boys’ Ranch management turned a blind eye to decades of child sexual abuse or it is being persecuted by discreditable former residents looking to make a buck. Those were the strategies outlined by legal adversaries in the first of 19 lawsuits against…

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Video: Masked toothless burglar suspect

Police believe the shotgun-toting robber who wore a military-style gas mask at Sunset Market in November is suspected toothless burglar Shawn Michael Westlie. Westlie, 44, is on this afternoon's Spokane County Superior Court first appearance docket for two counts of first-degree robbery, along with his…

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TUESDAY, JAN. 19, 2010


Jury convicts Spokane man of rape

A Spokane jury today convicted a 22-year-old man of raping a woman more than a year ago. Brandon S. Coristine cried, sighed and buried his head in his hands after Judge Michael Price read the verdict this afternoon in Spokane County Superior Court. The jury…

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Another charged in crime spree shooting

Another man has been accused of a shooting that left a teenager wounded and began a crime spree that included shots fired at a Spokane police officer. Greg Sharkey, Jr., 25, (left) is due in Spokane County Superior Court today on 10 counts of first-degree…

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Tumwater man killed with toilet paper

OLYMPIA (AP) — An autopsy determined that a man found dead Friday outside a Tumwater residence suffocated on tissue paper stuffed in his mouth.He's identified as 55-year-old Gerald F. Haag of Seattle.Thurston County sheriff's deputies arrested a 49-year-old man for investigation of murder.The sheriff's office…

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