Briefly

No one seriously hurt in I-90 crash

No one was seriously injured in a two-vehicle roll-over accident that brought holiday traffic to a crawl on Interstate 90 Friday. The accident occurred around 10:30 a.m. in an eastbound lane between the Appleway off-ramp and Liberty Lake.

According to Washington State Patrol Trooper Travis Robbins, driver Sara Jones of Redmond, Wash., collided with a vehicle driven by Randall Paap of Spokane when her 1998 Acura drifted into the center lane while she was bending over to get a water bottle.

Robbins said Jones, 54, over-compensated for her error, lost control of her car and slid into the right lane and into Paap’s 2000 Toyota Tundra. The truck was totaled after it flipped and rolled several times before coming to a stop in a field.

Robbins said Paap was traveling with passenger Cindy Paap. The motorists were transported to a hospital, although no one appeared to be badly hurt.

Man arrested after knife incident

A man waving a knife and scaring shoppers near River Park Square was arrested Thursday night when two off-duty officers grabbed him and pinned him to the floor near Rock City Grill, according to Spokane Police.

Michael A. Johnson, 48, was booked into jail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon.

No one was injured, but according to reports Johnson was yelling and hitting the hood of cars on Main Street in downtown Spokane. He waved the knife at pedestrians, who backed away from him. At one point, Johnson allegedly walked toward a man who was carrying his infant daughter. The man handed the baby to his wife and the stranger swung the knife within inches of the man’s face, according to the release.

Police Sgt. Mike Yates and his wife, Officer Brenda Yates, contacted dispatch and followed the man. The suspect walked toward Bon-Macy’s where he frightened several shoppers on the sidewalk, and then walked back to River Park Square and into the entrance near Rock City Grill, where he was arrested, according to the release.

Spokane Police are asking anyone who had a confrontation with Johnson Thursday night to contact Crime Check at 456-2233 and give the operator a phone report of the circumstances.

Pair jailed after visit to downtown hotel

Two people who tried to blend into the Davenport Hotel as guests Wednesday were arrested soon after they called the front desk and tried to extend their stay in a room they illegally obtained, police said.

Spokane Police were called to the Davenport Wednesday afternoon after reports of two unwanted guests in an eighth-floor room, according to a Spokane Police news release.

A hotel manager used a master key to open the door but a security latch kept the door shut. A 19-year-old woman inside opened the door and police found her and a 31-year-old man, according to the release.

Jessica Ann Prater of Bonners Ferry, Idaho, and Ryan M. Cooper, who told police he was from Springfield, Ore., were booked into jail on charges of first-degree theft and second-degree burglary.

According to reports, they told police they came to the hotel and somehow got access to the room of a guest who checked out.

Earlier this month, a similar scam at the Davenport resulted in $2,300 in food and service charges to a hotel room, according to the report.

Spokane County fire crews kept busy

Spokane County fire crews responded to two fires Friday morning.

The first was a chimney fire that spread through a house in south Spokane County in the 10400 block of South Andrus. Seven units were sent to the fire around 3:30 a.m.

No one was injured.

At 10 a.m., units responded to a barn fire in the 4500 block of North Lyons Road. Again, no one was injured and the fire was extinguished.

Man killed while hunting with brother

Duvall, Wash. A 25-year-old Utah man was accidentally shot and killed on Christmas Eve when his brother apparently tripped, causing a gun to fire, according to television reports.

It happened around 3:30 p.m. in the 28200 block of Cherry Valley Road in this rural northeast King County town. The victim and his 30-year-old brother had gone out to a field to either shoot targets or hunt, King County Sheriff’s Sgt. Jim Fuda said Friday night.

“The brother tripped, the gun was discharged and the younger brother was deceased,” Fuda told KING-5 Television.

The older brother reportedly used a cell phone to call for help, saying the victim had been shot in the neck, KIRO Television reported. Unsure of where he was, the station said the man waited for the sound of ambulance sirens and helped direct paramedics to the scene by firing shots toward the ground.

Airman’s death under investigation

Mountain Home, Idaho Air Force authorities are investigating the death of a 19-year-old airman found dead Tuesday night in Mountain Home.

Airman 1st Class Thomas Brannan might have died from exposure, said Marla Spence, Elmore County coroner.

Brannan was found lying face down in a field south of town with his shirt off. His car was found a third of a mile away, and he had alcohol in his system, Spence said.

It could take up to six weeks for complete autopsy test results, Spence said.

The base had been looking for Brannan for a few days.

Twin Falls landmark building gets new life

Twin Falls, Idaho A landmark building that has sat empty for nearly two years will soon will be reborn. A local investment group has purchased the former home of Muggers Brewpub and will open it again as a restaurant and microbrewery.

Twin Falls developer Todd Blass and attorneys Jeff Hepworth and Gary Slette make up Three Amigos LLC, the group which purchased the nearly 20,000-square-foot building Thursday.

Originally built as a warehouse around 1916, the building opened as a restaurant in 1996 but closed two years ago.