Thomas Clouse

Without disclosing the terms, Spokane Mayor Mary Verner announced late Friday that the Spokane Police Guild had reached a tentative agreement with the city that keeps 35 police officers from losing their jobs on Christmas.

American Medical Response, Spokane’s ambulance service provider, agreed to pay back just under $1 million, plus interest, received as a result of overbilling more than 12,000 Spokane residents over six years.

The deputy prosecutor who didn’t file a felony drunken driving charge against a man with a history of dangerous crashes said she’s not sure she has enough evidence to make the charge stick. James L. Crabtree, 49, appeared in court Tuesday and was told that a previous judge’s order that he not drive was lifted because prosecutors had not filed charging documents. Deputy Spokane County Prosecutor Mary Ann Brady said she expects to eventually charge Crabtree with something, but possibly not the felony driving under the influence charge being sought by investigators.

Breaking up may be hard to do, but a Deer Park man is facing substantial time in prison for the way investigators say he ended the relationship with his wife: by trying to throw her new lover off the Wandermere Bridge. The trial started Wednesday for David E. Epley, 37, who faces two counts of attempted first-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping in connection with a confrontation on May 12, 2009. Attorneys presented opening arguments that offered very different views of what happened on the darkened bridge that night.

The deputy prosecutor who didn’t file a felony drunken driving charge against a man with a history of dangerous crashes said she’s not sure she has enough evidence to make the charge stick. James L. Crabtree, 49, appeared in court Tuesday and was told that a previous judge’s order that he not drive was lifted because prosecutors had not filed charging documents. Deputy Spokane County Prosecutor Mary Ann Brady said she expects to eventually charge Crabtree with something, but possibly not the felony driving under the influence charge being sought by investigators.

A Spokane man with a history of DUI crashes was allowed to walk out of court Tuesday with his driving privileges intact after a prosecutor failed to file paperwork on time in his latest arrest. James L. Crabtree, who worked as a Spokane County sheriff’s deputy in the 1980s, appeared Tuesday for arraignment on a felony DUI charge stemming from an incident Nov. 17 where several motorists noticed him passed out at the wheel of his Cadillac. The other drivers used their cars to prevent him from leaving the scene after Crabtree, 49, rear-ended another car at the intersection of Broadway Avenue and Pines Road, Spokane County sheriff’s Cpl. Dave Thornburg said.

A Spokane man with a history of DUI crashes was allowed to walk out of court Tuesday with his driving privileges intact after a prosecutor failed to file paperwork on time in his latest arrest. James L. Crabtree, who worked as a Spokane County sheriff’s deputy in the 1980s, appeared Tuesday for arraignment on a felony DUI charge stemming from an incident on Nov. 17 where several motorists noticed him passed out at the wheel of his Cadillac.

Insanity defense explored in '08 murder

Unable to complete sentences between tears, 56-year-old Donald Young explained how being shot in a botched carjacking last year “messed up” his life. The man responsible, Joseph P. Ellery, 31, pleaded guilty Tuesday to first-degree assault in exchange for prosecutors dropping other charges, including first-degree robbery and drive-by shooting during the carjacking that occurred Dec. 18. He was sentenced to more than 13 years in jail.

The deputy under investigation for shooting a Spokane Valley pastor was sued in California after he shot the dog of a woman who was performing CPR on her dying husband. Deputy Brian Hirzel remains under investigation for the Aug. 25 shooting that killed 74-year-old Wayne Scott Creach at Creach’s nursery business at 14208 E. Fourth Ave.

A Michigan man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty in March to grooming a 13-year-old Ferry County girl and then traveling across the country to have sex with her. Timothy A. Shelly, 47, formerly of Wyandotte, Mich., admitted to enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity and traveling interstate to have sex with a minor. As part of the sentence Thursday by U.S. District Judge Robert Whaley, Terry must register as a sex offender for life.

A Michigan man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty in March to grooming a 13-year-old Ferry County girl and then traveling across the country to have sex with her.

A former Colbert couple who made millions selling porcelain figurines, have been sentenced to federal prison for refusing to pay more than $800,000 in income taxes. Scott D. and Kristin W. Haynes, both 56, pleaded guilty late Tuesday to five counts of failing to file tax returns for the years 1999 through 2003. They were arrested June 22 when they traveled to Florida after living for several years on a tropical island in the Caribbean that is part of Honduras.

Man gets 5 years for fatal '09 crash

Spokane-area law enforcement prevailed in three cases, including two involving allegations that officers used excessive force, Tuesday in federal court proceedings. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision in favor of the city in the case of John Burton v. City of Spokane. In that case, Burton alleged that Spokane police officers conducted an improper strip-search and had a policy of performing similar searches without warrants.

Spokane area law enforcement prevailed in three cases, including two involving allegations that officers used excessive force, Tuesday in federal court proceedings.

The Washington Supreme Court, in a three-way opinion, has upheld the conviction of a man who tried to have sex with a 13-year-old girl he’d met online who really was a Spokane police detective. All justices agreed with the ruling that upheld the attempted second-degree child rape conviction against Mitel H. Patel, rejecting the man’s claim that the case should be thrown out because there was no actual underage victim. Two sets of judges that agreed with the overall ruling but disagreed with the majority opinion submitted separate concurring opinions.

Kathleen Smith was a sweet, 52-year-old woman whose body aged but her mind did not. She lived in state care from age 14 until her death at the Lakeland Village Nursing Facility in Medical Lake in 2006. Smith drowned after she was left unattended in a bathtub despite having a seizure disorder that required arm’s-length supervision at all times.

Convicted burglar convicted of burglary

Triplet named new Superior Court judge

Spokane County Prosecutor Steve Tucker is asking voters for another four years in office at the same time he is trying to decide whether to bring charges in a controversial police shooting that killed a local pastor. Democratic challenger Frank Malone, 67, previously suggested that Tucker – a former Washington State Patrol trooper – turn over the decision about the Aug. 25 shooting of Wayne Scott Creach by a Spokane County sheriff’s deputy to a prosecutor from a different county.