Regional news briefly

Mon., Aug. 30, 2004

From staff and wire reports The Spokesman-Review

Man jailed after incident

A Spokane man was booked into jail Sunday on suspicion of assault after allegedly spraying his girlfriend and her bed with lighter fluid and setting the bed on fire, the Spokane Police Department reported.

Witnesses told police that Christopher M. Carter, 23, had also threatened his girlfriend with a knife. Police were called to the apartment at 2015 W. 10th about 12:30 a.m. Sunday by a female friend of the victim.

The girlfriend told police she and Carter had argued after returning home from a tavern. She said Carter started spraying the bed with a butane can used to refill lighters, the police said in a news release. He then set the blanket on fire with a lighter, but the girlfriend was able to put the flames out, police said. Carter then sprayed her with the can and started to light it, but she yelled to her friend to call the police and Carter left the apartment.

The women went outside also and were running away from Carter, who pulled a knife, police said. He chased his girlfriend with the knife and when she slipped on the grass, Carter ran up to her and began swinging the knife, police said. The friend knocked his hand away and got between the victim and Carter, who then walked away.

Shortly after officers arrived, they saw Carter walking down a nearby alley. They found a folding knife and butane container in his possession and booked him into jail. The victim did not require medical care, police said.

Teen injured in crash

A 16-year-old Spokane boy was in critical condition at Deaconess Medical Center Sunday night after a car accident early Sunday.

Scott A. Houim was riding in a car driven by Kyle A. Tritle, 16, about 1:08 a.m. when Tritle’s car ran into a house, the Washington State Patrol said.

Tritle was driving west on Nebraska Avenue and had passed through the intersection with Ash Street when his 1993 Acura ran into the house.

Tritle, who was wearing a seat belt, was treated and released, the WSP said. He was taken into custody but the charges weren’t disclosed. Houim was not wearing a seat belt.

HIV assault suspect disciplined

Olympia A man facing trial on charges of knowingly exposing 17 women to HIV has had his phone privileges restricted after prosecutors learned he contacted one of his alleged victims.

Thurston County Superior Court Judge Thomas McPhee on Friday limited Anthony E. Whitfield’s phone time from jail to 30 minutes a day.

Prosecutors say he has tried to persuade some alleged victims to change their statements or fail to show up in court.

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