Sirens & Gavels Blog." /> Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Meghann M. Cuniff

This individual is no longer an employee with The Spokesman-Review.

All Stories

News >  Spokane

Suspect arrested in home robbery

Spokane police on Friday arrested a suspect in a May 31 gunpoint home-invasion robbery. David F. Smith, 40, is believed to have robbed a home in the 1600 block of West Spofford Avenue. Police say a resident was hit with a handgun, but no shots were fired.
News >  Spokane

Suspect arrested in May 31 home invasion

Spokane police today arrested a suspect in a May 31 gunpoint home-invasion robbery. David F. Smith, 40, is believed to have robbed a home in the 1600 block of West Spofford Avenue.
News >  Spokane

Chief OKs conduct probe

A disagreement between the interim Spokane police chief and the ombudsman about how a police misconduct allegation should be investigated has been resolved after witnesses came forward with new information. A meeting scheduled last Friday between Interim Chief Scott Stephens, Ombudsman Tim Burns and Mayor David Condon never happened because Stephens informed Condon of his intention to investigate the accusation that police bruised a woman’s arms while handcuffing her at her home in early April.

News >  Spokane

Shock player says God told him to start fire

A pro football player who leapt from his burning third-floor apartment in Liberty Lake Thursday said he started the blaze with a marijuana blunt because God told him to, authorities say. Kevin Marcus Ellison, 25, a starting linebacker/defensive back for the Spokane Shock arena football team, initially told firefighters that he’d been smoking in bed, but evidence collected at the scene didn’t match that explanation, said Spokane Valley Fire Marshal Kevin Miller. Ellison was arrested during a follow-up interview at Deaconess Medical Center where he was being treated for smoke inhalation.
News >  Spokane

Newman Lake homeowner cleared after fatal shooting

A Newman Lake homeowner did nothing wrong when he shot his girlfriend’s ex to death after the irate man showed up at his house with loaded guns last month, according to prosecutors. Spokane County prosecutors said Tuesday that no criminal charges will be filed against Doug Snarski, 55, for the homicide of Sean Parsons on May 13.
News >  Spokane

Discovery leads to murder trial delay

The last-minute discovery that a famous TV host and an actor handled a hat worn by a killer sought in Spokane since 1992 has temporarily halted the accused murderer’s trial. Lawyers will reconvene July 10 to continue the bench trial of Patrick Kevin Gibson, 60, who was arrested in May 2011 in connection with the Nov. 7, 1992, shooting death of Valley furniture store owner Brian Cole, 48.
News >  Spokane

Son, 67, accused in mother’s death

A Spokane man has been charged with manslaughter after investigators say he neglected his elderly mother while in a drunken stupor last year. Glen Douglas Rosier, 67, left jail on $10,000 bond this weekend after his arrest on two felony charges for the death of his mother, Verna Rosier.
News >  Spokane

Woman accused of stealing, using officer’s passport

A Spokane woman is accused of stealing a federal Homeland Security officer’s passport and using it to pawn two stolen rifles. Investigators identified Amanda Wayne Macklin, 23, as a suspect after finding her number in Double Eagle Pawn’s phone records. They say she called the pawn shop on Nov. 21 asking if a passport could be used to sell items there, then went to the East Sprague Avenue store and sold the stolen guns for $475 using a passport belonging to Shannon L. Hart.
News >  Marijuana

Grow house search ruled illegal

A recent court ruling that deemed a drug raid illegal has raised questions about how law enforcement in Spokane County investigate marijuana growers. Sheriff’s detectives had reason to believe marijuana was being grown at a northwest Spokane County home when they raided it Nov. 2, but they didn’t have reason to believe the growers were violating the state’s medical marijuana law – or at least they didn’t say they did when they got authorization from a local judge to search the home.
News >  Spokane

TV host’s DNA at issue in Spokane County murder trial

The last-minute discovery that a famous TV show host and an actor handled a hat worn by a killer sought in Spokane County since 1992 could derail the trial of a man arrested for the crime last year. DNA samples from “America’s Most Wanted” host John Walsh and the actor, Spokane County native Trevor St. John, have been processed at the Washington State Crime Lab and could be presented as evidence in the trial of suspect Patrick Kevin Gibson.
News >  Spokane

Police testing body cameras

If city leaders want body cameras to become a standard part of the Spokane Police Department uniform, they’ll have to first work through what the city’s top cop says could be the key hindrance: Spokane police officers. The Spokane Police Guild is using the city’s proposal as a key bargaining chip in their latest contract negotiations, which recently began, Interim Chief Scott Stephens told the city’s Public Safety Committee this week.
News >  Spokane

Alleged vodka theft ends in arrests

Employees at a Spokane grocery store pepper sprayed the front doors to try to stop two suspected booze thieves from attacking them, according to police. Kerry Alan Zaugg, 24, appeared prepared to assault an employee Friday at Grocery Boys, 3430 N. Crestline St., with a stolen $60 bottle of vodka until another employee emerged from the store with a baseball bat, police said, adding that Zaugg had been chased in the parking lot after running from the store with the liquor.
News >  Spokane

Brazen robberies may be linked

A takeover-style robbery that targeted customers and employees at a McDonald’s restaurant in south Spokane may be connected to a similar gunpoint attack at a nearby home five days later, authorities said. Victims in both robberies described the masked men’s weapons as black semiautomatic handguns and a sawed-off, single-barrel shotgun, according to information released Monday.
News >  Spokane

Complaint going to mayor

A disagreement between the interim Spokane police chief and the police ombudsman about the handling of a recent complaint is getting the mayor’s attention. Ombudsman Tim Burns is asking Mayor David Condon to force the Spokane Police Department to investigate a complaint that arose when officers responded to a report of possible domestic violence at a home in the city.
News >  Idaho

Former Kootenai County deputy prosecutor claims age bias

A former deputy prosecutor in Kootenai County claims he was asked to take a psycho-sexual examination as part of a plot to get rid of him because of his age. Kenneth Stone alleges Kootenai County Prosecutor Barry McHugh and the county discriminated against him based on his age when they fired him after asking him to undergo the test, as well as a lie-detector examination, amidst sexual harassment allegations.
News >  Spokane

Man sentenced for killing dog with hammer

A Post Falls man who beat his dog with a hammer as his neighbor watched in horror has been sentenced to six months in jail.  Calvin Franklin Palmer, 53, who served 33 years in prison in Arizona for murder, apologized at his sentencing Friday and said the death of his Akita-pit bull “traumatized him,” according to court records.