Thomas Clouse

Superior Court Judge Tari Eitzen ruled today that Cole K. Strandberg is too dangerous to leave unshackled during a hearing to determine if he should be civilly committed or stand trial for aggravated first-degree murder.

A bomb maker mixed chemicals with shrapnel in what law enforcement officials say was a weapon designed to inflict maximum injuries during last week’s Martin Luther King Jr. march in downtown Spokane. Tests are being conducted to determine the type of chemical and whether it made the bomb potentially more deadly, Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich said Tuesday.

The search to find the person who left a bomb along the planned route of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day march has entered its second week with federal authorities still unable to identify a suspect. Frank Harrill, special agent in charge of the Spokane office of the FBI, said investigators have received numerous photos and video taken Jan. 17 of the area around Washington Street and Main Avenue but nothing that essentially solves the case for them.

The search to find the person who left a “lethal” bomb along the planned route of the Martin Luther King Jr. march has entered its second week without federal authorities able to identify a suspect.

A Spokane County Sheriff’s Office deputy won’t face criminal charges in the shooting death of a 74-year-old Spokane Valley pastor, a decision Prosecutor Steve Tucker says came down to this fact: Deputy Brian Hirzel has more protection under the law than the average citizen. “It’s kind of a law enforcement shield,” Tucker said Friday. “Unless we can show (Hirzel) is showing malice or evil intent, we can’t hold him criminally liable.”

Spokane County Prosecutor Steve Tucker has decided not to file criminal charges against the deputy who shot 74-year-old pastor Wayne Scott Creach during a confrontation last August in Spokane Valley.

The hunt for the person who left the bomb targeting marchers in Monday’s Martin Luther King Jr. parade will focus on two aspects: forensics and the region’s violent history with white supremacists. Frank Harrill, the special agent in charge of the Spokane office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, confirmed late Wednesday that two recent protests by white supremacists in Coeur d’Alene will be part of the effort to identify those responsible for leaving the bomb on the northeast corner of Washington Street and Main Avenue.

As the search continues today for the person who left a bomb in a backpack along the planned route of the Martin Luther King Jr. march, the local FBI chief is thankful he doesn’t have to deal with one word in particular: carnage.

Lindsey Reiswig and her co-workers got the first indication something wasn’t right Monday morning when a Spokane police officer came by Auntie’s Bookstore and said they needed to clear the building because of a suspicious backpack across the street. “We basically evacuated all the customers out of the back door. But we were working on inventory so some of us stayed and worked,” she said. “We didn’t think it was going to be anything serious.”