A Spokane tow truck driver is disputing police reports that he knowingly towed a stolen vintage car two weeks ago. Richard D. Ziesmer, owner of Pacific Towing and Recovery, said he had “absolutely no idea” the woman who asked him to tow the 1954 Ford…
Offenders who owe court fees and fines are no longer being forced to agree to a pre-determined jail sentence if they fail to make scheduled payments. The Washington state Supreme Court has ruled that people with court debts are entitled to a new hearing to…
Police still are looking for an armed robber who fled a north Spokane pizza place empty handed Thursday after a clerk pulled out a gun of his own. Officers found part of what appeared to be a pellet gun in the parking lot of Pizza…
Local attorney John Clark challenged Spokane’s system of issuing tickets from red light cameras, arguing Thursday in Spokane Municipal Court that the city is not following well-established law. Officers have long been required to sign infractions indicating that they reviewed the tickets and attested to…
An interagency drug team arrested two men in Grant County this week on gun and drug charges. Illegal immigrant Manuel Alvarez-Meraz, 36, (right) was arrested early Tuesday with marijuana and 13 guns during a raid at 13497 Road B.8 SE, near Royal City. Along with…
A witness in a gang-related murder pleaded guilty to two charges this morning in a sealed agreement with prosecutors. Antonio E. Cook, Jr., 28, (left) will remain in jail pending sentencing, which was not immediately scheduled. The deal drops several charges, including robbery, gun and…
A sheriff's deputy who fractured his neck in an encounter with one of Spokane County Jail's most notorious inmates was honored today by a local civic group. Dan Leonetti received the Downtown Exchange Club's Blue and Gold Award for law enforcement injured in the line…
Coeur d’Alene police are asking for help locating a 29-year-old man last seen Saturday. George R. Clowdus was last seen by his roommates, who reported him missing on Monday. Clowdus is described as 5-foot-10 and 160 pounds. He is bald, has blue eyes and has…
A man in Helena, Mont., has been arrested for the shooting death of a Grant County man last December. David E. Nickels, 29, faces a first-degree murder charge for 35-year-old Sage Munro's death on Dec. 29. Munro was found shot to death on his living…
The U.S. Senate has unanimously confirmed Wendy J. Olson as the next U.S. Attorney for the District of Idaho. U.S. District Court Judge Lynn Winmill will swear in Olson on Friday. Olson had been working as an assistant under U.S. Attorney Thomas Moss, who held…
The Republicans of Spokane County endorsed both incumbent Spokane County Prosecutor Steve Tucker and challenger Chris Bugbee after an election forum this week. That left out Republican challenger Dave Stevens, who earlier earned the endorsement of the Spokane County Republican Party. Democrat Frank Malone and…
A woman who took her children from Spokane 12 years ago will spend six more months in jail. Jill D. Haugen, 48, was sentenced on Tuesday to a year in jail with credit for six months already served. A jury convicted her earlier this month…
A Canadian man who smuggled cocaine into Eastern Washington will spend nearly five years in federal prison, a judge ruled today. Michael B. Yuill, 37, received about three years less than federal prosecutor’s requested and two years more than his defense lawyer requested. Yuill, of…
Two convicted felons accused of a burglary in which an antique Ford car was stolen pleaded not guilty this week in Spokane County Superior Court. The suspects, Susan Burke, 48, and Shane P. Venziano, 34, (pictured in 2006) were arrested June 7 after police found…
A heroin dealer who pleaded guilty in April but skipped out on an agreement with prosecutors has a warrant out for his arrest. Eddie J. Combs, 62, was to reduce his prison sentence by at least three years if he complied with a sealed plea…
UPDATE: Rory Schwanbeck was booked into jail on June 24.A convicted felon accused of intimidating a Spokane County District Court judge is wanted by police after a raid at his home revealed several firearms. Rory M. Schwanbeck, 54, is out of jail awaiting trial on…
Federal murder-for-hire suspect Edgar Steele will stay in jail pending trial after a judge found he had attempted to intimidate potential witnesses in the case – his wife and son. In a detention hearing Tuesday, federal prosecutors played two tapes of phone conversations Steele had…
Police are looking for tips on recent burglaries at two Spokane Valley child care centers and a coffee stand. Someone stole a Dell laptop computer from Kindercare, 422 N. Mullan Road, between 6:30 p.m. Friday and 5 a.m. Monday. About that same time, someone stole…
A man who has survived three one-car crashes on the same road near Plummer, Idaho, is in federal custody on a manslaughter charge for a crash last summer. Joseph Michael Matt, Jr., a member of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, was charged in connection with an…
A Texas couple who reportedly moved to Spokane to kick their heroin addictions are in jail after police say they attacked a cell phone clerk and threatened to tie her up, then stole a phone and nearly $700. Derrick D. Saldana, 27, and Jennifer R.…
SEATTLE (AP) — Police in the Midwest are investigating whether an infamous teen burglar from Washington state is behind a string of break-ins and car thefts, officials said Monday. Colton Harris-Moore, a 6-foot-5 19-year-old from Camano Island, Wash., escaped from a halfway house south of…
A suspected hitman-turned-informant who federal investigators say didn’t tell them he’d already planted a bomb on the car of a murder-plot target was ordered held without bail on Monday. U.S. Magistrate Candy Dale called her decision to keep Larry A. Fairfax, 49, behind bars “very…
Two 21-year-old men were arrested Monday after a man was stabbed in the shoulder and a teen girl was hit in the neck with the handle of a hammer. Police say Cousteau C. Wright started a fight with a 20-year-old man at a home in…
Crime Stoppers is offering a reward for tips that identify the thieves who stole batteries from construction zone signs in the Highway 395 and North Spokane Corridor. The thefts, which occurred between 9 p.m. Tuesday and 6 a.m. Wednesday, rendered the two reader boards useless…
A sex offender who has been arrested twice since January for failing to register with authorities is wanted by police again. Crime Stoppers is offering a reward for tips that help arrest Tyrone L. Gardipee, 25, who is charged with failing to register as a…
Public safety news from the Inland Northwest and beyond.
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