Briefly

Phone scam targets senior citizens

Spokane police want the public to know about a new telephone scam targeting senior citizens.

A woman told police she received a call from a group called the American Seniors Coalition.

The organization claimed that it was monitoring the woman’s junk mail and that she was being charged for it, said Dick Cottam, police spokesman. The man said the annual charge for the service had gone up from $299 to $330, and he needed the woman’s bank account number to confirm, Cottam said.

The woman told the man she had never heard of the organization and asked how they had been billing her in the past. The man refused to tell her and hung up.

Police warn citizens never to give out financial information to unknown callers.

Anyone who receives a similar call should contact Crime Check at (509) 456-2233.

Level III sex offender moves to downtown

Spokane police want the public to be aware of a Level III sex offender now living in downtown Spokane.

Danny T. Alexan, 48, was released from prison two weeks ago and is living in the 300 block of West Second Avenue, said Dick Cottam, police spokesman.

Alexan was convicted of second-degree assault with sexual motivation involving a 16-year-old boy.

He was also convicted of sexual abuse of a minor in a case that involved two girls, 11 and 14 years old, Cottam said.

Because of his history, Alexan is considered a high risk to reoffend. He is not wanted by law enforcement at this time, but the public should be aware of his presence.

He is Native American, 5 feet 7 and 192 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes.

Professor will lead sleep research effort

The Spokane Alliance for Medical Research announced Thursday the selection of Dr. Gregory Belenky to head its sleep research initiative.

Washington State University Spokane also is naming him a research professor.

Belenky will give a brief presentation about his ideas for sleep research in Spokane from 2 to 3 p.m Aug. 18 in the Phase I Classroom Building, 668 N. Riverpoint Blvd.

Rep. George Nethercutt plans to attend the event, which is free of charge and open to the public.

The Spokane Alliance for Medical Research started with a $1.5 million Department of Defense grant announced last year.

Dennis Dyck, associate dean for research at WSU Spokane, is the project’s coordinator.

Belenky is a colonel in the U.S. Army Medical Corps and serves as director of the Division of Neuroscience at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research.

In a written statement, Belenky said few sleep labs focus on the effects of sleep on performance primarily in people without sleep disorders, as Spokane’s will.

He said Spokane’s center will join a select group: Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, University of Pennsylvania, University of Colorado, and Harvard are the only other institutions with such a focus.

Man arrested after collision in Spokane

A 24-year-old man was arrested Wednesday night after he allegedly ran a stop sign in northwest Spokane, hit another car and ran from the scene, Spokane police said.

Officers received a report of a reckless driver in the area of Division and Wellesley about 2 p.m., followed by a collision at Wall and Longfellow, said Dick Cottam, police spokesman.

Several citizens chased Charles Paul Renshaw and brought him back to the scene of the collision, Cottam said. He ran from the area again and was taken into custody by police.

Renshaw was booked into jail on suspicion of felony hit and run and numerous traffic infractions, Cottam said.

He did not have a driver’s license or insurance.