Chad Sokol

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News >  Crime/Public Safety

Semitruck crashes, catches fire on I-90 near Moses Lake; no injuries reported

UPDATED: Sat., Jan. 26, 2019

A semitruck crashed and caught fire Saturday afternoon on Interstate 90 near Moses Lake, blocking eastbound traffic, spilling fuel onto the roadway and sending a plume of black smoke into the air.

News >  Crime/Public Safety

Pedestrian killed Friday night crossing 57th Avenue on upper South Hill

UPDATED: Sat., Jan. 26, 2019

A man was killed Friday evening when he was struck by an SUV while crossing a street on the upper South Hill.

News >  Spokane

Detective’s report explains $7,000 loan involving Kettle Falls police chief’s stolen guns

Sat., Jan. 26, 2019

The man who returned 27 stolen guns to the Kettle Falls police chief earlier this month appears to be the same man who met with the chief’s girlfriend last spring, while the chief was trying to investigate the matter himself.

News >  Spokane

‘The Lion King’ by the numbers: More puppets than cast members on stage at First Insterstate Center for the Arts

UPDATED: Tue., Jan. 29, 2019

Forty-nine cast members, 700 lights, 230 puppets and one very big Pride Rock go into the reimagined Disney story.

News >  Spokane

WSU regents authorize up to $5.26 million to settle lawsuit over 2017 hard drive burglary

Fri., Jan. 25, 2019

The class-action suit in King County Superior Court stemmed from an April 2017 burglary at an Olympia storage facility in which someone stole a hard drive containing sensitive information on nearly 1.2 million people, including names, Social Security numbers and personal health records.

News >  Crime/Public Safety

Woman arrested after fatal shooting in east Spokane

UPDATED: Thu., Jan. 24, 2019

A 25-year-old woman is accused of shooting and killing a person in a home in east Spokane before running to a nearby shopping area, where she was arrested Thursday morning. Ashley Horning was later booked into the Spokane County Jail on a second-degree murder charge.

News >  Spokane

Four deputies injured in brawl with suspect in Spokane Valley

UPDATED: Wed., Jan. 23, 2019

The suspect, Brandon T. Field, 35, was arrested with the help of a police dog. He faces four counts of third-degree assault, as well as charges of resisting arrest, attempting to elude a police vehicle and driving with a suspended license.

News >  Spokane

For Gonzaga University, prime real estate in dowtown Seattle was just too good to sell

UPDATED: Wed., Feb. 20, 2019

Gonzaga University recently announced it would lease land to a developer to build a 17-story apartment tower in downtown Seattle. But don’t expect the Jesuit school to expand its footprint in the Emerald City or pin its financial future on real estate development.

News >  Idaho

UI opens law school fast-track program to Lewis-Clark State College

Tue., Jan. 22, 2019

Students who transfer from Lewis-Clark State College to the University of Idaho can earn their bachelor’s and law degrees in six years, rather than the usual seven, under a new agreement between the two schools.

News >  Education

Sociology professor visits SCC to explore the legacy of the ‘real’ Martin Luther King Jr.

UPDATED: Thu., Jan. 17, 2019

Sociology professor Darryl Brice visited Spokane Community College on Thursday to discuss the ways in which key pieces of Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy have been omitted from public discourse.

News >  Crime/Public Safety

Man comes forward with 27 guns stolen from Kettle Falls police chief

UPDATED: Thu., Jan. 17, 2019

A man previously unknown to law enforcement has returned 27 guns that were stolen last spring from the home of the Kettle Falls police chief. The man called Chief Chris Courchene’s office on Monday, a day after The Spokesman-Review broke news of the burglary and the complicated, nine-month investigation that followed.

News >  Spokane

Providence gets new security dog to curb violence against staff, patients at Sacred Heart

UPDATED: Tue., Jan. 15, 2019

Sarge, a 16-month-old German shepherd born in the Czech Republic, was hand-picked for Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and already has been deployed twice to help defuse volatile situations at the hospital.

News >  Spokane

Post Falls man accused of shooting at police during high-speed chase

Mon., Jan. 14, 2019

Christian A. Reynolds appeared in court Monday on numerous charges, including aggravated assault, drug trafficking and driving under the influence.

News >  Spokane

‘Zero time to act’: Fatal house fire in Sandpoint appears accidental

Mon., Jan. 14, 2019

Investigators are still looking into the cause of the blaze at 620 E. Mountain View Drive, and additional findings will be made public later this week, Sandpoint City Administrator Jennifer Stapleton said in a news release Monday.

News >  Crime/Public Safety

Someone stole 29 guns from the Kettle Falls police chief. Twenty-eight are still missing.

UPDATED: Thu., Jan. 17, 2019

Chris Courchene, the Kettle Falls police chief, told Stevens County sheriff’s detectives he had twice sent his girlfriend to meet a mysterious suspect and paid $1,250 in hopes of retrieving the weapons. This week, his ex-girlfriend reached a deal with prosecutors that ensures she won’t be charged in connection with the stolen guns.

News >  Spokane

Colville suspect James Gates pleads not guilty to second-degree murder

UPDATED: Fri., Jan. 11, 2019

James C. Gates, who resides in Spokane, pleaded not guilty to a charge of second-degree murder in connection with the death of 51-year-old Mark Leland.

News >  Spokane

WSU student accepts $500,000 to settle excessive force lawsuit against Pullman Police Department

UPDATED: Wed., Jan. 9, 2019

A Washington State University student who alleged Pullman police officers used excessive force while taking him into protective custody inside a Jack In The Box in 2016 has settled his lawsuit for $500,000.

News >  Spokane

Spokane County Jail director John McGrath will step down; officials may launch nationwide search for replacement

UPDATED: Wed., Jan. 9, 2019

McGrath wrote that he informed the county commissioners of his decision last week, and his last day on the job will be Feb. 18. The commissioners will be tasked with appointing his successor.

News >  Spokane

Father of Portland child killer Michele Dee Gates accused of shooting her husband in Stevens County

UPDATED: Wed., Jan. 9, 2019

A fatal shooting near Colville involves a family with a history of homicidal violence.

News >  Spokane

Experts say ‘national emergency’ for border wall probably wouldn’t survive legal challenge

Tue., Jan. 8, 2019

It’s unclear how Congress, as a whole, would respond if President Donald Trump declares a national emergency in order to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, an idea he and his advisers began floating on Friday.

News >  Crime/Public Safety

His family says he stopped using heroin. Then he relapsed in the Grant County Jail.

Sun., Jan. 6, 2019

Derek Batton had pretty much beaten a heroin addiction by the time he was booked into the Grant County Jail, according to his family. Inside, though, things took a turn for the worst.

News >  Crime/Public Safety

Alleged Moses Lake bomb builder had wrong type of fertilizer

UPDATED: Fri., Jan. 4, 2019

Ryan S. Palmer, 39, stole a urea-based fertilizer from the Nutrien Ag Solutions facility in Moses Lake – not an ammonium nitrate formulation that could have been mixed with diesel fuel to produce an explosive compound called ANFO, according to a spokesman for the Grant County Sheriff’s Office.

News >  Spokane

After setbacks, Spokane County abandons custom criminal justice algorithm in favor of simpler tool

UPDATED: Wed., Feb. 20, 2019

The Spokane Assessment for Evaluation of Risk, known as the SAFER tool, was touted as a cornerstone of local efforts to reduce jail overcrowding and eliminate racial disparities in the justice system. But because of staff turnover, software glitches and the challenge of syncing the tool with state court data, the program never worked as intended.

News >  Crime/Public Safety

Spokane County Commissioner Al French seeks consensus on new jail

Thu., Jan. 3, 2019

“The goal is to have something concrete, defined, this year,” said French, who also chairs the Spokane Regional Law and Justice Council and its facilities committee. “This can has been kicked down the road for so many years that we need to get an answer. We need to get a solution.”

News >  Spokane

Spokane kicks off 2019 with a bang in Riverfront Park

UPDATED: Mon., Dec. 31, 2018

New Year’s Eve revelers gathered by the hundreds to watch fireworks in Riverfront Park.