Winda Benedetti

Imagine getting stopped by a police officer for speeding or running a stop sign. But instead of pulling out the ticket book, the officer pulls out a computer.

A man who shot at his son and his ex-wife's friend could spend up to 20 years in prison for the crime, a judge ordered Thursday. But Christopher Tucker, 48, of Coeur d'Alene will be eligible for parole after five years in prison, according to the sentence handed down by Judge James Judd.

John Zichko

Andy Moore first lost his legs and then his hands to the meningitis. And on Sunday, the 15-year-old Idaho boy lost his life to the disease. A local pastor told of the family's last minutes with their son. "They talked with Andy and they told him they knew he was tired and they knew he was hurt and if he just wanted to go to sleep and quit fighting then that was OK with them, that he had their blessing, that they loved him and he could go," said Rev. Don Blain, of the Weippe Wesleyan Church.

Lawsuits: They clog the court system, they take years to resolve and they can be extremely costly - in terms of money and emotions. So imagine a lawsuit in which both sides come out the winner.

Police arrested a 31-year-old mother Sunday after witnesses said they had seen her abuse her 2-year-old son. Mishel Diaz of Coeur d'Alene was charged Monday with cruelty to a child.

Some of the country's biggest alternative bands are helping an Idaho tribe keep historical artifacts on its reservation. Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Presidents of the United States of America and Pete Droge have donated money to help the Nez Perce tribe buy back 20 handmade objects created by tribal ancestors.

Dan DeArmonek examines a striped Triumph frame at the motorcycle swap meet and ride-in bike show held at Bodine's Bar in Cataldo. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review

After spending most of his life in North Idaho, 86-year-old Mr. Johnson is the kind of man who takes people at their word. Investigators believe scam artists took advantage of that trust by charging him more than $13,000 for bug spraying they never did.

Prom industry Lake City seniors Ocie Aguilar, left, and Jackie Iverson adjust a balloon arch for the Senior Ball tonight at the Coeur d'Alene Resort. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

A man accused of carrying two small bombs in his car was charged Wednesday with a misdemeanor. But the Kootenai County prosecutor said James D. Dove, 30, should have been charged with a more serious crime.

Friends and admirers of artist Stephen Lyman are invited to attend a memorial celebration at 1 p.m. Sunday at Sam Owen Park in Sandpoint. The nationally known artist and Sandpoint resident died last month while hiking in Yosemite National Park.

A Spokane man was arrested on 25 counts of grand theft and 24 counts of burglary for allegedly taking more than $41,000 from a Spokane wholesale distributor. But John C. Nelson Jr., 35, was officially charged with only five counts of grand theft on Tuesday.

The 12 jurors looked shaken, pale and physically ill as they handed down their guilty verdict. They had just spent a week looking at photographs of a dead 2-year-old boy - his curly blond hair hiding the fatal injury to his brain.

Ducking their duty Kootenai County jury commissioner Gomer Davis says a "wonderful right" is being abdicated. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

An Idaho Department of Health and Welfare employee was charged Thursday with seven counts of grand theft after more than $24,000 in child-support payments turned up missing. But Janine S. Edwards, 41-year-old mother from Coeur d'Alene, insists she hasn't stolen a penny.

Robert Landrum admits he urged an armed man to shoot at him Wednesday night. But "I didn't think he would do it," Landrum, 19, of Coeur d'Alene, said.

Kevin Merwin stood in the center of a human storm Saturday, a guilty man. A jury of seven women and five men, their faces pale and drawn, had just found the 24-year-old computer repairman guilty of the abuse that led to the death of his wife's child.

"He just fell over," says Kevin Merwin, recounting the day Alexander Buss, 2, wa injured while in his care. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

Urbano Herrera-Brito stalked and tried to kill a man who had assaulted him, a jury decided Wednesday. After a three-day trial and almost five hours of deliberation, jurors found Herrera-Brito, 37, guilty of attempted second-degree murder in the shooting of Martin Nunez.

A man accused of molesting two teenage boys while posing as a psychiatrist pleaded guilty to lewd conduct Wednesday. Larry Leombruno, 46, of Harrison, Idaho, was charged with two counts of sexual battery in August after two 17-year-old boys told investigators he molested them while pretending to give them "brain wave synchronizing" therapy.

A Silver Valley man who tried to be a Good Samaritan became a crime victim instead. Jesse Milsap, 36, was tied up, robbed and beaten Tuesday night after letting a stranger into his home to use the telephone, according to Shoshone County sheriff's officials. "He's really in shock," said Cpl. Mitch Alexander.

A woman is in a wheelchair, and now the man who put her there will be in prison. First District Judge Gary Haman on Monday ordered Robert A. Thomas, 30, of Coeur d'Alene to spend up to five years in prison for two counts of aggravated drunken driving.

1. Child abuse or tragic accident? Michelle Buss-Merwin responds Monday to questioning by defense attorney Frederick Loats in the trial of her new husband, who is accused of causing the death of her 2-1/2-year-old son. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review 2. Kevin Merwin 3. Deputy Prosecutor Lansing Haynes tells jury in Kevin Merwin's trial that bleeding around the eyes is a classic sign of shaken baby syndrome. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review