Jody Lawrence-Turner

A sheriff's detective accused of exposing himself to a young barista in Airway Heights was fired Thursday. Joseph W. Mastel, 52, was a 12-year veteran of the Spokane County Sheriff's Office.

Investigators think two men set a Spokane Valley house on fire in revenge for being evicted. Alcohol may have given the former tenants the extra push to carry out the arson, court documents said.

Throwing the burning debris outside the building is one way to prevent a major blaze. That's what one man did in Spokane Valley last week, which saved the CHKN-N-MO at 11808 E. Sprague Ave.

A sheriff's detective accused of exposing himself at an Airway Heights coffee kiosk reportedly told investigators he was trying to build a relationship with the young barista. Now, detective Joseph W. Mastel, 52, is facing a possible charge of indecent exposure and could lose his job.

Russell Tiwater thought it was important to honor his slain brother's memory, but he couldn't bear to sit through the trials of the two men accused of killing Rick Tiwater. "I don't want to see the pictures," the brother said, referring to the gruesome crime-scene photos that become a nightmarish part of homicide trials.

The African men wooed the disabled woman over the Internet for several months, then asked Sheryl Sandberg for a favor. The men sent her a package containing money orders, checks from foreign banks, cashier's checks and traveler's checks and asked her to distribute the items via Federal Express and U.S. mail to 80 people.

A former Geiger Corrections officer pleaded guilty Monday to sexually assaulting a female inmate while on duty. Bernard R. Baumgardner, 60, contends the sex was consensual but acknowledged that he still broke the law by engaging in prohibited contact with the prisoner. In a deal reached with prosecutors, Baumgardner pleaded guilty in Spokane County Superior Court to first-degree custodial sexual misconduct in connection with the Jan. 25 encounter.

A signature is no longer required on traffic tickets. An amendment to the law took effect Wednesday and applies to all law enforcement agencies in Washington.

A woman wanted for identity theft apparently got tired of running from the law, so when a deputy spotted her Wednesday night in Spokane Valley, she waved him over. Vicki D. Nance, 44, told the officer she was the one he was looking for, police said.

A McDonald's Restaurant manager used his training Tuesday to quickly douse a grease fire before Spokane Valley firefighters arrived. He used an extinguisher to put out the flames, and there was minimal damage, Valley Fire spokesman Bill Clifford said. The call for firefighters to McDonald's was one of six fire calls between May 23 and Tuesday morning.

With a growing number of high-profile cases involving police and other public safety officials stacking up, Spokane County Prosecutor Steve Tucker said Friday he's close to deciding whether criminal charges should be filed in one of them. Tucker, in a rare office interview, said he will announce by the end of next week if former Spokane firefighter Daniel W. Ross will face any criminal charges in connection with a photographed sexual encounter Jan. 29 with a 16-year-old girl at a local fire station.

Warm weather brings people outside, and with that comes higher possibility of accidents. "Motorists need to be more aware of kids being out and about," Spokane Valley Fire spokesman Bill Clifford said. A skateboarder was hurt when he was hit by a car in the 11900 block of East Montgomery Avenue on May 17.

A Chewelah resident was dozing off on his couch when a man carrying a handgun pounded on his door about 3 a.m. Friday. "A guy was yelling that he needed help," said Mike Wiyrick during a phone interview Monday from his Chewelah home. "He told me there were three guys who were trying to break into his trailer and kill him."

The search for a new Spokane police chief is progressing. With a job description completed and a clearer picture, the recruitment process has begun.

Overcooked chicken was the culprit in one fire call to the Spokane Valley Fire Department between May 9 and 15. Firefighters responded to a home in the 11000 block of East Boone during the afternoon of May 11 on a report of smoke, said spokesman Bill Clifford. The residents were frying chicken; it apparently was burned when crews arrived.

The threesome was buying items often found on a shopping list: toothpaste, Doritos, batteries, flashlights, dog food, Dr Pepper. Throw in halter tops, a Coleman propane tank and an air ratchet, and the Wal-Mart shopping excursion was becoming more of a spree.

Trooper Carmen Harrington saw a truck out of the corner of her eye and knew she couldn't get out of the way in time. She was standing on the fog line on an Interstate 90 exit ramp measuring a crash scene last week. The truck's side mirror hit her between the shoulder blades and spun her around, and she was hit in the backside by the rear of the flatbed.