Man convicted of assaulting officer

After four hours of deliberations, a U.S. District Court jury on Thursday convicted John A. Grace of assaulting a federal officer and distribution of crack cocaine.

U.S. District Court Judge Fred Van Sickle did not set a date for sentencing Grace, who will remain in custody.

The 32-year-old member of a Long Beach, Calif., street gang was found guilty of selling an ounce of crack cocaine to a woman who was working as a cooperating witness with a Drug Enforcement Administration task force.

Following the $750 drug sale on Jan. 21, 2004, Grace attempted to back out of a parking stall in the Rosauer’s supermarket lot at 1808 W. Third, witnesses testified.

Two plainclothes DEA task force officers approached the suspect’s Mitsubishi sport utility vehicle, ordering the driver to stop.

But the driver backed out, then drove forward at one of the DEA agents, who fired his .40-caliber handgun through the windshield, the jury was told.

The bullet struck the driver, who led other DEA agents and police on a short chase, ending in a four-vehicle pileup near First and Cedar. Grace was struck in the face, but fully recovered from the wound.

Grace did not take the witness stand in his own defense during the four-day trial. His attorney argued that Grace had no idea that the man who approached the vehicle was a police officer and believed he was a masked robber.

5-year-old expelled for brandishing knife

A kindergarten student at a Spokane Valley elementary school was expelled last week for threatening several students with a small pocketknife.

The 5-year-old Greenacres Elementary School student was placed on emergency expulsion after he was caught threatening classmates on the playground Feb. 3, said Melanie Rose, district spokeswoman.

“The child was immediately taken to the office, and his parents were called,” Rose said. “This is what we would do in any case where a weapon or a firearm is involved.”

This case has been a little difficult because of the student’s age.

“Everybody is very upset,” Rose said. “Sometimes kids will bring something to school and they don’t realize they have it, that’s a little different.”

She did not know where the knife came from.

It is also not known whether the student will be allowed to return to the school, she said.

“We won’t know until (the investigation) is complete what the next step is,” Rose said.

High-speed chase on I-90 leads to arrest

A Spokane man was arrested early Thursday morning following a high-speed chase through the Spokane Valley and into Idaho on Interstate 90 and U.S. Highway 95, according to the Idaho State Police.

A Mazda van was reported stolen Wednesday in Spokane about 5 p.m., according to the Washington State Patrol. About 2 a.m., WSP troopers had spotted the van and were pursuing it eastbound when the chase crossed into Idaho, according to the ISP.

The ISP laid spikes at milepost 9, which flattened two tires on the van, but the chase continued with the flat tires. The driver, identified by police as Thinh H. Pham, 30, lost control of the van and crashed into a tree off U.S. Highway 95 at milepost 423, according to ISP.

Pham fled on foot, but three hours later sheriff’s deputies found Pham near the crash scene, and he surrendered without incident, according to ISP.

Pham was arrested on charges of felony eluding, possession of a stolen vehicle and driving without privileges.

Othello teen charged with manslaughter

An Othello teenager was charged with manslaughter on Thursday in connection with the death of another teen.

On Feb. 6, Charlie Peralta, 17, was taken to Othello Community Hospital with head injuries. He was transported to Deaconess Medical Center, where he died Monday. Adams County Undersheriff Kevin Fuhr said investigators determined that Peralta, who lived near Othello, died as a result of a skull fracture he received when he struck the pavement after Abimael Garza hit Peralta’s head during a fight.

Garza has cooperated with authorities and was not in custody on Thursday. No weapons were used in the fight, which was part of ongoing feud, Fuhr said.