Chelsea Bannach

A Spokane Valley waste-handling business will pay thousands of dollars for dumping hazardous waste in a local landfill. Emerald Services Inc., located on North Sullivan Road in Spokane Valley, will pay the state Department of Ecology $12,000 as a consequence of delivering and dumping a shipment of waste at the Graham Road Landfill that contained a high level of chlorinated materials.

A Stevens County man was shot and killed during a confrontation with Stevens County sheriff’s deputies Friday night. Authorities released few details in the wake of the shooting Saturday, but said sheriff’s deputies were responding to a call from a suicidal man about 10:50 p.m. when the shooting occurred.

A Stevens County man was shot and killed during a confrontation with Stevens County Sheriff’s deputies Friday night. Authorities have released few details, but sheriff’s deputies were responding to a call from a suicidal male about 10:50 p.m. when the shooting occurred. Stevens County dispatch received a call from the man, who resided at 3675 Deer Creek Road in southern Stevens County, according to sheriff’s Capt. Andy Harbolt. Deputies arrived on scene, a shot was fired and the male subject was struck. Emergency crews responded, but the unidentified man was later pronounced dead at the scene, Harbolt said. It is unclear what precipitate the shooting or how many deputies were involved, but none of the deputies were injured. A firearm was recovered at the scene. An autopsy will be scheduled for sometime next week. The Stevens County Coroner’s Office will release his identity. The multi-agency Spokane Investigative Regional Response Team responded to investigate with the assistance of the Stevens County Sheriff’s Office. As per protocol, the deputies involved have been placed on administrative leave during the investigation.

Before a troubled teenager emerged as the prime suspect in a Spokane woman’s brutal riverbank slaying earlier this year, detectives had begun to suspect that the victim’s own daughter might have been involved, newly unsealed court documents show. Billie McKinney, daughter of stabbing victim Sharlotte McGill, was described by police seeking a judge’s permission to search the woman’s home as an uncooperative witness with a financial interest in her mother’s demise. But the daughter’s attorney said investigators misstated facts and misrepresented McKinney’s behavior in order to secure search warrants, and he wants an explanation.

Spokane County Sheriff’s Office investigators arrested a girl Wednesday for stealing guns from her father in Medical Lake. The 17-year-old female was booked into the Spokane County Juvenile Detention Facility for the Sept. 17 theft of 21 firearms from her father’s Wilcox street home. Authorities say she gave the guns to 21-year-old Bradley Kelly in exchange for his pickup truck, which she never received, and to 20-year-old Cody Wolfley. The juvenile and Wolfley each face one count of burglary, 21 counts of trafficking in stolen property, 21 counts of theft of a firearm and 21 counts of possession of a stolen firearm. Kelly faces nine counts of Possession of Stolen Property. Through their investigation, detectives determined the 17-year-old stole her father's firearms from their residence by herself, but was assisted in the process by Wolfley and Kelly, according to sheriff’s Spokesman Deputy Craig Chamberlin. This investigation is ongoing and anyone with information is asked to call Crime Check at 456-2233.

Lines were perhaps a bit longer than usual at the Department of Licensing on Saturday as many people tried to beat fee increases that go into effect Monday. The Washington Legislature voted to raise the fees during the 2012 legislative session.

A SWAT team surrounded the White Elephant store on North Division Street on Friday night after a report of a man entering the building through an air duct on the roof.

Accused killer Avondre Graham pleaded not guilty today in Spokane County Superior Court to four charges stemming from attacks against three women. Graham is charged with second-degree murder, first-degree attempted assault, first-degree robbery and third-degree assault.

Avondre C. Graham admitted to Spokane police detectives he stabbed Sharlotte McGill to death in May. Graham, 17, is being held in Spokane County Jail for second-degree murder, and is also charged with attacking two other women in the same area where McGill was killed. He told police he stabbed McGill because she called him a racial slur and made a comment about the music he was listening to, according to a probable cause affidavit filed today in Spokane County Superior Court.