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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Rape defendant in prison for assault

Compiled from staff and wire reports The Spokesman-Review

A Spokane man who assaulted and allegedly raped his pregnant girlfriend on April 9 has been sent to prison for a year.

Beau Shields Woods, 26, had been charged with first-degree rape, but he recently pleaded guilty to second-degree assault. Superior Court Judge Kathleen O’Connor gave him a minimum-standard sentence, but the maximum standard would have been just two months longer.

According to court documents, Shields forced his girlfriend – who was seven months pregnant with his child – to smoke drugs so she couldn’t file a complaint without risk of having the baby taken from her by Child Protective Services when it was born. Then, she told police, he carried her to another room and threw her against a wall, claiming he tripped.

The victim said her head hit the wall and her stomach began hurting after she was thrown.

She said she refused at first when Woods demanded sex, but relented when he aimed a hammer at her head.

Spokane man pleads guilty to arson count

A Spokane man who was suspected in several arsons, including a fire in his own home, has pleaded guilty to a single count of second-degree arson.

Greg J. Brimer, 35, had been charged with first-degree arson in connection with a fire April 8 at 5314 N. Driscoll Blvd., and with attempted first-degree arson in a fire the next day in boxes outside his 5817 N. Greenwood Blvd.

Brimer faced a standard range of 22 to 29 months in prison, and Superior Court Judge Tari Eitzen recently gave him two years with credit for 123 days he had already served.

Grizzly wounds man, daughter in Glacier

West Glacier, Mont. A man and and his daughter hiking in Glacier National Park suffered bite wounds and other injuries Thursday when they surprised a female grizzly and her cubs on a popular hiking trail, park officials said.

Names of the out-of-state hikers were not released.

They did not appear to have life-threatening injuries, said park spokeswoman Amy Vanderbilt. But both had to be airlifted from a steep hillside, which they had rolled down in an effort to escape the bear, Vanderbilt said.

They were reported in critical condition Thursday night at Kalispell Regional Medical Center.

This was the first instance of a bear-related injury this year in the park, officials said.

New BYU-Idaho boss finding his way around

Rexburg, Idaho The new president of Brigham Young University-Idaho says he won’t waste any time before getting started in his new position.

But before making any major decisions, Kim B. Clark said he needs to become more familiar with the campus.

“I am literally still learning where things are,” Clark said. “I am still looking for the bathrooms and the different buildings.”

His first official duty as the school’s president was to attend graduation ceremonies last week. Some revamping could be next.

“The first few months we, the vice presidents and I, are going to find the problems and figure out how to work on them,” Clark said.

Working with other universities in the state is crucial to making BYU-Idaho better, Clark said.