Detectives find marijuana plants growing in Spokane Valley rental house
Spokane County Sheriff’s detectives seized more than 60 marijuana plants Wednesday morning from a Spokane Valley rental home.
No one was charged in connection with the indoor marijuana-growing operation but the investigation is ongoing, said sheriff’s spokesman Cpl. Dave Reagan said.
About 10 a.m., detectives arrived at 11806 E. Boone Ave. to serve a search warrant for drugs and could smell marijuana from the street, Reagan said. No one was home, but detectives easily found their way to the two rooms in the basement where the plants were being grown.
One room had 26 18-inch plants and 18 starters, Reagan said. The other room had more than 20 4-foot plants nearly ready for harvest.
The listed tenant has rented the home for five years, Reagan said.
Numerous large pots of soil were stacked in the living room and gallon baggies of marijuana were found in the freezer.
Woman hurt in Aug. 14 crash improving
A 25-year-old Spokane Valley woman who suffered severe injuries after a man crashed into her car on Aug. 14 has been upgraded to serious condition, her family said Wednesday.
Amber Vinson was driving through the intersection at Indiana and Washington about 5 a.m. when a 1993 Dodge Shadow ran a red light and smashed into her 1991 Toyota Camry, police said.
The driver of the Dodge, 21-year-old Benjamin Phifer of Spokane, was cited with vehicular assault, Spokane police spokesman Dick Cottam said. He will appear in court on the citation.
Vinson’s mother, Rachel Vinson, said despite the upgrade in her daughter’s condition, she is far from recovering.
Vinson was unconscious for several days, Rachel Vinson said. “We’ve got a long road to go.”
The 25-year-old suffered head and organ injuries, police said.
Rachel Vinson said her daughter wasn’t working at the time of the crash and doesn’t have medical insurance.
“Her friends set up a trust fund in her name at Horizon Federal Credit Union to help,” Vinson said, adding that she’s grateful for everyone’s help during this difficult time.
East Illinois Ave. burglar foiled, then flees
A burglar was stopped in the act Tuesday morning when a man sneaked into a garage, turned on the lights and pointed a handgun at him.
Residents of a home on East Illinois Avenue saw the man in their detached garage about 5 a.m. and their adult son confronted him, said Spokane police spokesman Dick Cottam in a news release. Police received a call from the home saying the intruder was being held at gunpoint.
The suspect obeyed orders from the son to go outside and get on the ground, but eventually fled with a backpack, Cottam said. No shots were fired.
Police recovered the backpack, which included items from the garage.
The burglar is described as white, in his late 20s, about 6-foot and 180 pounds with short, dark hair. He was clean shaven. One of the residents said he was wearing a light on his head similar to a miner’s cap, Cottam said.
Police ask that anyone with information call 242-8477.
Dog feces allegedly used to mask pot smell
A Spokane couple accused of growing marijuana had a good reason not to inhale.
The pair let their 13 dogs defecate in their home in order to hide the pungent smell of the green pot, sheriff’s spokesman Cpl. Dave Reagan said in a news release Wednesday.
The sheriff’s Investigative Support Unit raided a home Monday at 604 E. Seventh Ave. after developing information that marijuana was growing in the basement.
They found 48 plants and arrested Trent J. Conner, 31, and Nicole Cheri Tinsley, 19, on charges of manufacturing a controlled substance.
While many drug suspects use charcoal filtering or venting systems to hide the marijuana odor, the couple appeared to be using dog, Reagan said.
An ISU spokesman said the couple had three adult pit bull terriers and 10 4-day-old puppies in the basement, and they were allowing the dogs to defecate and urinate there, apparently to hide the dope odor. It took three animal control officers to round up and remove the dogs.
Despite the chronic smell, the couple lived in the upstairs part of the home.
Wristband sales support police families
Volunteers and sheriff’s chaplains are selling wristbands in an effort to raise money for families of police officers and sheriff’s deputies in times of crisis.
The bands, which cost $2 each, are green and have the initials of the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, said sheriff’s spokesman Dave Reagan in press release.
Wristbands are on sale at the Public Safety Building, 1100 W. Mallon Ave., the Spokane Valley Police Precinct, 12710 E. Sprague Ave., and the chaplain’s office, 1211 W. Gardner Ave.
Division will be narrowed to two lanes
Division Street will be reduced to two lanes from Boone Avenue to North River Drive starting this afternoon.
The lane closures are necessary for state work to grind down the roadway and repave it.
Work is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. today and end at 6 a.m. Friday.
Highway 395 work will cause delays
Drivers may want to postpone trips to or from Deer Park and Loon Lake today.
Washington State Department of Transportation officials are estimating hour-long delays along the 7-mile stretch between the two towns as crews seal the pavement on Highway 395.
The oil used requires a curing period before it can withstand traffic, so flaggers and pilot cars will be used to keep cars to a single lane of traffic.
The work will begin at 9 a.m. and end at approximately 4 p.m.