A woman charged in connection with the 2011 killing of Nicholas J. Thoreson appeared in court but chose not to accept a plea agreement. Breeanna C. Sims, 20, faces the charges of first-degree murder, kidnapping, rendering criminal assistance, arson and the taking of a motor…
A Spokane man arrested at gunpoint after a police chase three weeks ago was picked up again Tuesday morning after another chase with law enforcement. A profusely sweaty Michael S. Wheeler, 38, was taken to a hospital after he told a sheriff's deputy he had…
A burglary suspect was arrested within four hours thanks to an alert neighbor and quick-responding Spokane police property crimes detectives. A resident called 911 about 11 a.m. Tuesday to report a burglary in progress in the 700 block of North Elgin Street. The neighbor described…
The suspected leader of a burglary ring that victimized homes in the Spokane area has been charged by prosecutors. Randall T. Smeltzer, 33, is to be arraigned May 30 on burglary, theft and meth charges. He's accused of burglarizing a home in the 3500 block…
Detective Michael Drapeau and investigators with the Spokane County Sheriff's Office remove evidence from a house at 6704 E. Third Ave. in Spokane Valley Tuesday. (SRphoto/Colin Mulvany) A suspect was arrested today in Spokane Valley for the May 12 shooting death of a 44-year-old man.…
Appellate judges ordered a new trial today for Spokane man convicted in 2009 of being a sexually violent predator because the note he wrote, detailing his desire to rape, kidnap and dismember a woman, was never communicated to anyone and thus did not meet the…
Public safety news from the Inland Northwest and beyond.
