SEATTLE (AP) — Two deputies in Washington state encountered a convicted felon less than eight hours before he slaughtered four police officers, but a warrant check came up empty, leaving the man free to commit the slayings, documents state. Those details, first reported by The…
Two law enforcement searches Sunday and Monday revealed methamphetamine in a man's rectum and in a woman's bra. A jailer found 14 grams of meth in Richard D. Hall's shoe and "a bodily orifice" after the 27-year-old was arrested with a drug pipe, cash and…
SEATTLE — A jury should be told Otto Zehm hadn’t committed any crime before he was beaten by a Spokane police officer who claims Zehm was aggressive and defiant when confronted in a North Side convenience store, a federal appeals court panel was told Monday.…
A robbery suspect allowed to leave jail for drug rehabilitation is wanted by police for escape. Aaron Lee Goldstein, 18, left Spokane Addiction Recovery Center, 812 S. Walnut Ave., on Friday, the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office announced Monday. He’d been in custody since December, charged…
A fugitive wanted by Crime Stoppers since November was arrested Saturday after reportedly trying to use a phony name during a traffic stop. Shanell L. Haddon, 27, was a passenger in a 1996 Cadillac when Spokane Valley police Officer Juan Rodriguez stopped the car at…
Two burglars were caught in the act this morning in north Spokane, police say. Spokane police officers saw two men flee an unsecured garage and drop items in a backyard after responding to a burglary in progress in the 4000 block of North Cincinnati Street…
A convicted bank swindler who boldly walked out of a federal courtroom in Spokane three years ago to avoid arrest is back in jail, accused of another scheme. John Earl Petersen, the key figure in the collapse of a Montana bank more than a decade…
A man who stabbed his lover's estranged husband was released from jail after pleading guilty to a felony assault charge. Dumont P. Whitt, 35, was sentenced to 2.25 months in jail Thursday in Spokane County Superior Court but credited for time already served and good…
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The state Department of Corrections is changing some of its procedures in response to the killing of a female guard at the Monroe prison last weekend. Jayme Biendl was found strangled in the prison's chapel last Saturday night. An inmate has…
LEWISTON, Idaho (AP) — Police in Lewiston have released the name of a 69-year-old man who was shot by law enforcement officers after a bank robbery. David L. Payton of Clarkston, Wash., is hospitalized in critical condition in Seattle. Officers investigating the robbery of a…
SANDPOINT, Idaho (AP) — Recovering a stolen cell phone? There's an app for that. The Bonner County Daily Bee reports 22-year-old Sean B. Mahoney of Sandpoint pleaded guilty to misdemeanor theft and possession of drug paraphernalia on Wednesday in a case that was cracked by…
A federal jury recently rejected a Coeur d'Alene man's claims of excessive force by police related to a May 2008 traffic stop in which he was shocked with a Taser several times. Jurors found that Coeur d'Alene police Officers Jonathan Cantrell and Timothy Neal did…
A Spokane stockbroker admits to drinking alcohol the day his Mercedes crashed into a motorcycle, paralyzing the driver and killing the passenger, but he told jurors he wasn’t drunk. He’d told the doctor who examined him after the June 2, 2009, crash that he hadn’t…
Edgar Steele is set to ask for a new attorney in his murder-for-hire case. Longtime Denver defense lawyer Robert T. McAllister said a hearing will take place Monday morning in Coeur d'Alene. "I am not Mr. Steele's attorney of record at this point in time,…
FERRIDAY, La. (AP) — Arthur Leonard Spencer says sure, he made some mistakes back when he was a "snot-nose kid," like joining the Ku Klux Klan. But murder? No, the 71-year-old Spencer says, a small-town weekly paper got it wrong when it reported recently that…
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The bankrupt son of a Las Vegas judge followed a crude holdup at a posh casino by racking up hundreds of thousands of dollars in gambling losses and spending a week like a high roller, but got caught after trying to…
BELLINGHAM, Wash. (AP) — Hey, diddle, diddle! The cat and the fiddle ... the thief ran off with the spoon? The owner of Bellingham's Fountain Bistro is hoping someone will spot a 4-foot-tall silver spoon that vanished from the restaurant over the weekend. Jill Holmes…
SEATTLE (AP) — Prosecutors in five Washington counties want former Supreme Court Justice Richard Sanders barred from continuing to rule on cases — an effort he calls a blatant attempt to manipulate the court. Sanders (left) was narrowly defeated by Charlie Wiggins (right) in his…
SEATTLE (AP) — The co-founder of a Northwest chain of eye-surgery centers has been convicted of plotting to kill his business partner. Dr. Michael Mockovak of Clearly Lasik eye centers was found guilty Thursday of four counts, including attempted murder. The King County Superior Court…
EVERETT, Wash. (AP) — The family of slain Monroe prison guard Jayme Biendl released a statement through police Thursday saying they are devastated by the loss. They thank law enforcement and the community for their support but don't want to talk to media. The family…
A bank robber turned in by his girlfriend's mother will spend about two years in prison. Eric C. Mason, 42, was sentenced to 28 months and will be credited for 166 days served in the Spokane County Jail after pleading guilty Wednesday to second-degree robbery,…
The Spokane police officer involved in fatal collision with a pedestrian Sunday is scheduled to return to full patrol duty. The officer, identified Wednesday as Gordon Ennis, an eight-year veteran, has been interviewed by investigators and is scheduled to return to full patrol duty. He…
A Spokane stockbroker accused of paralyzing a motorcyclist and killing a woman during a drunken crash in 2009 is expected to testify today. Jon A. Strine, 43, is to take the stand this morning, one of the final days of his vehicular assault and vehicular…
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — As thousands of football fans descend on Texas for Sunday's Super Bowl, law enforcement agencies are keeping watch for a different kind of out-of-town visitor: pimps selling children for sex. Cities that host the big game often attract a bustling sex…
SEATTLE (AP) — Two other women were assaulted in the past six months at the Washington state prison where a female guard was strangled, adding to questions about the safety of prison workers. Officer Jayme Biendl, 34, was killed Saturday night in a chapel at…
Public safety news from the Inland Northwest and beyond.
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