Thomas Clouse

A Spokane man suffered severe burns over about 40 percent of his body Wednesday from a fire that erupted inside a small travel trailer that had been parked just north of Sprague Avenue on Smith Street. Phil Gordon, 59, suffered severe burns on his hands, wrists, face, head and back. He was quickly transported to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center, Spokane Fire Battalion Chief Bruce Moline said.

A Spokane man suffered severe burns over about 40 percent of his body tonight from a fire that erupted inside a small travel trailer that had been parked just north of Sprague Avenue on Smith Street.

The Spokane School Board voted 3-2 Wednesday to support the state’s application for federal Race to the Top funds. School Board Director Jeff Bierman was opposed, as was board President Susan Chapin.

Spokane Mayor Mary Verner told the City Council Wednesday that she plans to eliminate 41 city jobs next year, including 18 police officers and 9 Fire Department employees.

An 18-year-old father pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges that he abused his infant daughter to the point that she was once diagnosed as brain dead. Tyler L. Jamison, 18, faces a charge of first-degree assault that Spokane police previously said would be amended to murder charges should the 3-month-old girl die.

An 18-year-old father pleaded not guilty today to charges that he abused his infant daughter to the point that she remains brain dead.

The longtime psychologist for the Colville School District was ordered Monday to serve at least 14 1/2 years in prison for molesting one of his students and attempting to molest another. Superior Court Judge Al Nielson sentenced 59-year-old Craig L. Figley to 174 months in prison. However, his case will go before a state board that reviews the sentences of sex offenders, and that board could decide to keep Figley in prison for life, Stevens County Prosecutor Tim Rasmussen said.

The longtime psychologist for the Colville School District was ordered today to serve at least 14 and ½ years in prison for molesting one of his students and attempting to molest another.

Spokane Police Officer Karl F. Thompson Jr. divorced his wife to shield his assets and force taxpayers to foot the bill for his criminal defense, the federal prosecutor in the Otto Zehm case alleged in court documents filed this week.

Spokane Valley detectives made arrests Thursday in a string of thefts at nearly 40 area churches where suspects stole credit cards used to purchase goods that were then traded for drugs. Spokane County sheriff’s Detective Kirk Keyser, who is contracted to work in Spokane Valley, said fellow law enforcement crews hit three homes Thursday, confiscating piles of stolen goods and supplies of narcotics.

The man charged with bludgeoning a homeless man to death allegedly told a friend on the day of the killing that he had done something that would be on “the national news.” Roland E. Benton, 34, appeared Thursday before Superior Court Judge Ellen Kalama Clark, who set his bail at $500,000. He’s charged with first-degree murder in connection with the killing of 46-year-old Douglas J. Klages, whose body was found April 30 in the Dishman Hills Natural Area.

Spokane Valley detectives made arrests today in what they call a ring of thefts at more than 40 area churches where suspects stole credit cards used to purchase goods that were then traded for drugs.

The driver of a pickup that dragged a college student 13 miles to his death during a 2007 hunting trip to Pend Oreille County has settled a civil suit against him for $1 million. The family of the victim intends to use a portion of the proceeds to fund a scholarship in his name. Justin Sinn, then 17, was never charged in the case. His father, Wendell C. Sinn Jr., 46, of Newman Lake, received a 27-month prison sentence for his part in the death of Jerid Sturman-Camyn, 20. Wendell Sinn tied a noose around Sturman-Camyn’s neck, attached it to the back of his truck and told his son to drive away.

The attorney representing police Officer Karl F. Thompson Jr. has asked a federal judge to exclude any evidence that Otto Zehm had not committed a crime on the night of his confrontation with Spokane police and to exclude the testimony of two young women whose 911 call sparked the incident. U.S. District Court Judge Fred Van Sickle in a hearing May 17 is expected to rule on those motions by Carl Oreskovich, the taxpayer-paid private attorney defending Thompson.

Attorneys employed by the city of Spokane no longer will represent Spokane Police Officer Karl F. Thompson Jr. in the legal battles stemming from the 2006 death of Otto Zehm, according to a recent court filing.

A judge sentenced an admitted baby killer to 15 years in prison Monday but denied the slayer’s mother a final request: a hug before deputies escorted him away. Jereme J. Bassett, 24, last month pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of 7-month-old Nevaeh Alana Miller, who was the daughter of Bassett’s girlfriend at the time, Jennifer Wilcox. Bassett also pleaded guilty to third-degree assault that stemmed from him choking Wilcox’s 8-year-old son after he learned Nevaeh was brain dead.

A judge sentenced an admitted baby killer to 15 years in prison today but denied the slayer’s mother a final request: a hug before deputies hauled him back to jail.

A brain-damaged homeless man could serve either four more months or up to five years in prison based on a sentence Friday for a rape that occurred in broad daylight on a Saturday last May in Riverfront Park. Terry L. Thomas, 54, earlier pleaded guilty to third-degree rape in connection to the incident that occurred May 23. He was sentenced Friday to 15 months in prison and given credit for 11 months already served.

High on methamphetamines, Christopher E. Hooper handed over the knife last year that killed Shannon Cochran, who was standing up to several attackers to defend a friend. Hooper, 19, pleaded guilty Thursday to second-degree assault; the charge was reduced from second-degree murder because he didn’t do the actual stabbing on Jan. 16, 2009, and he cooperated with police, Spokane County Deputy Prosecutor Larry Haskell said.