Thomas Clouse

A new lawsuit has been filed seeking more money from Dr. Tracy Berg and a teenage boy who were blamed for starting the Valley View fire that destroyed 11 homes and caused several million dollars worth of damage. The latest suit was filed last week by Seattle attorney Thomas A. Wolfe, who represents 11 individuals or couples for Safeco Insurance Company. Wolfe is seeking $2.8 million for damage caused in the July 10, 2008, blaze that burned more than 1,000 acres.

A Democrat is joining the race for Spokane County prosecutor. Longtime local attorney Frank Malone is officially launching his bid to challenge Prosecutor Steve Tucker today. Meanwhile, Tucker is scheduled to meet today with Deputy Prosecutor Dave Stevens, who was suspended earlier this month after Stevens announced his own bid to run for prosecutor.

A Democrat is joining the race for Spokane County prosecutor.

A man previously convicted of shooting a 13-year-old girl between the eyes while he was acting like a gangster pleaded guilty today to second-degree robbery.

The third and final defendant pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges stemming from his role in a fight that ended in the stabbing death of a Spokane man last year. Christopher R. Harper, 28, had been charged with second-degree murder following the March 3 stabbing death of 19-year-old Michael “Mickey” Lyng. However, prosecutors agreed with assistant public defender Al Rossi to allow Harper to plead guilty to two felony charges of riot.

The third and last defendant pleaded guilty today to charges stemming from his role in a fight that ended in the stabbing death of a Spokane man last year.

Two people were badly burned this evening inside a recreation vehicle parked behind a north Spokane home.

The death penalty case against Christopher H. Devlin has turned into a disagreement over who should pay for his costly trial. Spokane County Superior Court Judge Jerome Leveque has twice ruled on where the trial should be held. First in 2008, Leveque ordered the case to remain in Spokane County after Deputy Prosecutor Larry Steinmetz argued that the May 2008 killing of a 52-year-old Chattaroy man was planned and carried out in Spokane County, where the body also was found.

Spokane residents sick of having outstanding misdemeanor warrants can to go court later this week and get those legal problems fixed. However, Spokane Municipal Court officials are not offering amnesty or waiving any fines as part of “WarrantFest,” city spokeswoman Marlene Feist said.

After a hitch getting the jury seated, a deputy prosecutor told the panel today why they should convict a 19-year-old Spokane man of attempted first-degree murder after he shot a man several times in a parking lot on Sunset Hill.

Three state appellate judges were asked Tuesday to reinstate a verdict that was favorable to a local doctor after five jurors in the original malpractice trial reportedly made derogatory comments about the Japanese heritage of one of the plaintiff’s attorneys. The case has attracted statewide attention among dozens of minority legal organizations, many of which filed arguments in support of upholding the decision by now-retired Superior Court Judge Robert Austin. The judge granted a new trial in 2008 after two of the 12 jurors gave sworn statements about other jurors’ comments about attorney Mark Kamitomo, who represented the family who sued the physician, alleging malpractice. The jury found no malpractice and the doctor seeks to restore the jury’s decision.

Three state appellate judges were asked Tuesday to reinstate a verdict in favor of a local doctor after five jurors in the original malpractice trial reportedly made derogatory comments about the Japanese heritage of one of the plaintiff’s attorneys.

Spokane officials announced today that Spokane Municipal Court will begin hearing cases on two Saturdays a month starting in December.

More Spokane Police officers could face criminal charges over the city’s handling of the fatal confrontation with unarmed janitor Otto Zehm, with newly filed court documents indicating a federal probe is continuing into potential obstructions of justice.

Federal prosecutors have grown increasingly critical of what they describe as questionable behavior by the Spokane Police Department’s chief legal adviser, who reportedly used his position to provide “traditionally confidential” information to the officer under FBI investigation following the fatal confrontation with Otto Zehm. In documents filed recently in U.S. District Court, prosecutors describe a pattern of behavior by Assistant Spokane City Attorney Rocky Treppiedi that raises questions about whether the city actively sought to interfere with the federal investigation that led to a grand jury indictment of Officer Karl F. Thompson. Treppiedi disputes any suggestion that he has acted improperly.