Man jailed in officer-dragging case

A man has been arrested on suspicion of dragging a Spokane Valley police officer 50 yards with his car earlier this month.

Corey Dejuan Allen, 35, was booked into the Spokane County Jail on Tuesday on a charge of first-degree assault.

On Jan. 7, Officer Sean Walter was called to 420 S. Carnahan, where a nearby car was partially blocking the southbound lane, court records say.

Walter said in court records that the car’s passenger and the driver, later identified as Allen, were sleeping or passed out.

Allen, after being awakened, refused Walter’s request that he leave the car, so Walter opened the driver’s door, documents state.

Allen began to drive slowly and Walter attempted to pull Allen out, court records state. As Walter was about to let go, Allen turned the car sharply and Walter tripped and became wedged between the door and frame of the car, according to Walter’s testimony. While dragging Walter, Allen accelerated to about 30 or 40 mph before Walter was able to free himself, according to the testimony.

Walter, who was not seriously injured, went back to his patrol car and soon found Allen’s car crashed into a fence and bushes near Fifth and McKinnon. Allen had fled the crash scene, court documents state.

Allen’s bail was set at $125,000.

Explosive device found in Plantes Ferry lot

An explosive device was discovered at Plantes Ferry Park on Monday by a man plowing the parking lot.

The device was in a cardboard box in the parking lot at 12803 E. Upriver Drive.

“The plow driver stopped to pick it up and throw it into the Dumpster,” said Spokane Valley Police Department spokesman Cpl. Dave Reagan.

Someone had filled an empty carbon dioxide cartridge with black powder and a fuse, Reagan said. The cartridge was of the type used in pellet guns and about the size of a man’s thumb. A burning cigarette had been placed under the fuse. “It just burned out without doing the fuse,” he said.

The Explosives Disposal Unit detonated the device rather than risking a close examination, Reagan said. Since the device was placed in an empty parking lot, there likely would not have been any damage even if it had gone off. “My hunch is it’s just somebody experimenting,” Reagan said.

However, construction of such a device is against the law, Reagan said.

Spokane Valley man arrested on drug charges

A Spokane Valley man was arrested Tuesday morning after police said they found marijuana in his home.

The man, identified as George E. Pollitt, 27, had been under investigation for months, said Spokane Valley Police Department spokesman Cpl. Dave Reagan. Police said undercover officers had purchased marijuana from Pollitt several times during the investigation.

When police arrived at 11923 E. 20th, Pollitt was arrested without incident. Officers reported that there was a loaded Glock .45-caliber pistol at his feet but that Pollitt did not reach for it, Reagan said. His sister and nieces apparently live in the home’s basement, but police don’t believe the children were present during drug sales.

Pollitt was booked into the Spokane County Jail on two felony charges of delivery of a controlled substance and one possession of marijuana charge.

David Wasson joins S-R editorial staff

David Wasson has joined The Spokesman-Review as an assistant city editor in charge of politics and government coverage.

Wasson, who was raised in Spokane, returns to the Inland Northwest after five years with the Tampa Tribune in Florida. Most recently, he was capital bureau chief in the Tribune’s Tallahassee office, coordinating coverage of Gov. Jeb Bush’s administration, the state Cabinet and the Legislature.

He previously worked as a reporter in Yakima and Aberdeen, Wash.

Wasson, 42, replaces Anne Windishar, who left The Spokesman-Review last summer to pursue a master’s degree in counseling at Gonzaga University.

Forest Service wants input on trail system

The U.S. Forest Service is asking for help in updating its trail system in the Colville National Forest. A meeting tonight in Deer Park will offer an overview of the process, which is expected to take at least a year.

The meeting begins at 6 p.m. at the Deer Park fairgrounds building.

For the past 18 months, the agency has been working with various trail users to develop a new strategy for managing recreation travel across the Colville National Forest, said Debbie Wilkins, a recreation staff member with the Newport and Sullivan Lake Ranger District.

By the end of winter, the Forest Service is expected to finalize a national ban on off-trail vehicle travel. With this in mind, the Colville Forest is trying to better identify its existing trail network, as well as investigate opportunities for new trails, Wilkins said. More people than ever are now using the forest, including hikers, mountain bikers, horse riders, all-terrain vehicle users and snowmobilers.

Despite the increased pressure on the forest, there’s no additional money to maintain new trails, Wilkins said. “Any additional trail system will have to be maintained by users.”

Meetings will take place over the next six months in communities throughout northeast Washington to discuss the situation. Wilkins stressed that decisions about trails will be made closest to the location of the trail.

“We’re not going to have a meeting in Spokane and talk about a trail in Republic,” she said. “If you’re concerned about trails in Republic, then come to the Republic meeting.”

Guard suspends search for missing crabber

The U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search for a missing Spokane man Monday pending further developments, said Coast Guard operations specialist Dennis Mathers.

A crab boat from which Manu Lagai, 33, was washed overboard Saturday will continue crabbing in the Bering Sea.

Lagai fell out of the boat, the Sultan, about 150 miles northwest of Alaska’s St. Paul Island shortly before the crabbing season began at noon Saturday.

The five remaining fishermen aboard, including Lagai’s brother, were told that they did not have to continue, said Mike Shanahan, vice president of administration for Seattle-based Blue North Fisheries, which owns the Sultan. But they decided that Lagai would want them to stay.

“We are devastated,” Shanahan said. “Manu was well thought of by his fishmates.”

Shanahan said that Lagai had worked on crab boats for about eight years.

The crab season in Alaska will end once 19 million pounds of crab are caught, Shanahan said. That could happen as early as this weekend.

Fire damages auto repair shop

Fire damaged an auto repair shop Tuesday night in east Spokane.

Bill Mehaffey, owner of M&M detailing at 17 S. Haven, said he was doing some welding work on a truck when a spark set fire to a can of gas around 10:30 p.m.

Mehaffey, a former volunteer firefighter in California, said he fought the flames with extinguishers and threw a car hood over the fire. He and a neighbor pushed a truck out of the garage.

Spokane firefighters quickly extinguished the remainder of the blaze when they arrived.

The fire damaged the ceiling and caused some smoke damage to the structure, which is insured. Mehaffey said there was no damage to any vehicles on the property.