Kevin Blocker

Templeton

There's a new gang in Spokane. And unlike current gang members here, the newcomers fire their weapons more frequently than their competitors. So the Spokane Police Department has set up a special task force to challenge the gang.

Police are investigating a drive-by shooting Monday night in east Spokane that left a car riddled with bullets and a man hospitalized with a head wound. The shooting reportedly occurred in the 3200 block of East Fifth between 5:30 and 6 p.m.

With a spotlight and the moon illuminating their work, WWP workers remove jumpers from a damaged pole on Summit Avenue on Friday so that when electricity does flow through the line, it won't also flow through a broken line on the ground. Photo by Sandra Bancroft-Billings/The Spokesman-Review

Motorists cast a wary glance at the trees above before dragging fallen branches off Ash just north of Northwest Boulevard. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

(From For the Record, November 24, 1996:) Minors under the age of 18 caught smoking or chewing tobacco can face penalities ranging from fines to community service. A story in last Tuesday's paper incorrectly described the tobacco laws.

The so-called "date-rape" drug Rohypnol is suspected in at least half a dozen Spokane sexual assault cases in recent months. But those numbers could be considerably higher, rape-crisis officials say.

An escaped felon accused of robbing a Whitman County man at gunpoint led authorities on a high-speed chase through three counties before being arrested Wednesday night in Spokane. Jacob E. Miller, 23, was booked into the Spokane County Jail on suspicion of escape, burglary, robbery and eluding police.

You've heard of Walt Disney's story of "101 Dalmatians." Now the Montana Highway Patrol presents the tale of 101 cows. And the ending isn't pretty.

1. Spokane Police Chief Terry Mangan addresses a crowd gathered at GU's Jepson Center Auditorium to discuss race equity. Members of the black community voiced their views on harassment. Tim Buchanan Sr. sits at top left and his son, Tim Buchanan Jr., at top right. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review 2. Brandon Greenwood, left, and Alaric Dirmeyer complete a sign they hung in the Jepson Center lobby where a town hall meeting was held on Saturday afternoon.

As the appetizer arrives, Jason Bator contemplates which fork to use. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review

A warm voice in the night. Disc jockey Devin James gets ready to start his 7 p.m.-to-midnight shift at KZZU-FM. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review

From the heart of Spokane. Marlene Walters, front, giggles while Anni Ryan Meyer leaps in joy after Walters donated $1,000 in cash to help the orphans of Romania. Photo by Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman-Review

Morris Dees, chief trial counsel of the Southern Poverty Law Center, delivered the Luvera Lecture Friday. Photo by Sandra Bancroft-Billings/The Spokesman-Review

Hutton sixth-grader Katie Johnson gets a victory hug from her first-grade teacher, Sue Ann Harnetiaux. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review

At a public rally, stabbing victim Tim Buchanan, right, listens to speakers talk about the lack of justice in his case. Buchanan was stabbed Sept. 7 at the Spokane County Fairgrounds. Photo by Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman-Review

Chuck McFarland stands next to the spot where one of two bullets struck his 1973 Porsche Targe 911. McFarland was fired upon early Thursday morning at Seventh and Cannon. Photo by Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman-Review

Ferris High School graduate Ryan Gee is the mascot for the Flying...make that Fighting Irish. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

1. Stabbing victim Tim Buchanan attends NAACP news conference Tuesday at attorney Carl Maxey's office. Photo by Sandra Bancroft-Billings/The Spokesman-Review 2. Carl Maxey attends NAACP news conference Tuesday. Photo by Sandra Bancroft-Billings/The Spokesman-Review

Tavern owner Dick Lee peers through the window of his establishment. A series of burglaries has shaken his faith in the Cheney Police Department. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review

A city law stripping the doors from video booths inside Spokane's adult arcades survived another legal test Monday. Spokane County Superior Court Judge Michael E. Donohue rejected a legal challenge to the ordinance, ruling that the 3-year-old ban on closed-door booths doesn't violate free speech rights. Two years ago, a federal judge made a similar ruling in another lawsuit.

Parents of a University High student question whether race is a reason the woman who allegedly stabbed their son has not been arrested. Tim Buchanan, who is black, and eyewitnesses said he was stabbed Sept. 7 at the Spokane Interstate Fairgrounds by the mother of an East Valley student he was fighting.

Police are looking for four suspects who reportedly attacked a man early Wednesday morning. The 31-year-old victim told officers he was walking in the 2000 block of East Bridgeport when he was approached by four adult men. One of the suspects pulled out a handgun and held the muzzle to the victim's head. The man demanded money, and when the victim said he had none, the man struck him in the face with the gun, according to police.

A rise in workplace violence has forced many local businesses to hire guards and provide security training to employees. "It's our biggest fear," said Shelia Leslie, vice president of Argus Services, a security agency in the Valley. The majority of victims in these crimes are female workers. The perpetrators are usually estranged spouses or boyfriends, according to Sandy Richards, the crime prevention specialist for the police department.