Suspect in hit-and-run surrenders

A suspect turned himself in Wednesday morning in connection with the fatal hit-and-run collision Tuesday morning that killed Othello, Wash., community leader Lester L. Clemons.

The girlfriend of 28-year-old Jose T. G. Andrade called the Adams County Sheriff’s Office at 7:40 a.m. Wednesday and said her boyfriend was driving the 1987 Nissan Maxima that struck and killed Clemons, a former Othello City Councilman.

At 8:05 a.m., deputies found the car and Andrade in an orchard in north Franklin County. They arrested Andrade and charged him with felony leaving the scene of a fatal accident, Sheriff Doug Barger said in a press release.

Andrade is cooperating with deputies and told them that he asked his girlfriend to call authorities so he could answer for the charges, Barger said.

Clemons, 89, was crossing the street at about 6:45 a.m. Tuesday to collect his newspaper when the maroon Nissan struck Clemons. As another motorist called for help, a white mini-type conversion van with green stripes also struck Clemons and fled the scene.

A third vehicle hit Clemons, but that driver stopped and offered assistance. Darkness and fog may have contributed to the collision.

Deputies continue to search for the white van, Barger said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Adams County Sheriff’s Office at (509) 488-2061.

Prisoner charged with hitting officers

A federal fugitive arrested in Coeur d’Alene on Tuesday now faces more charges for punching two Spokane County jailers Tuesday night.

Members of the Eastern Washington Fugitive Task Force arrested Jarrod J. Yockey was wanted on a federal probation violation warrant, Spokane County sheriff’s spokesman Cpl. Dave Reagan said in a press release.

Yockey, 33, who was staying in the home of a female friend, was booked into the Spokane County Jail on a U.S. Marshal’s hold.

Then, about 8:30 p.m., Yockey was on the telephone when he yelled for an officer to read him the visitation rules that are posted there. A corrections officer told the inmate to lower his voice and to walk over and read the rules himself, Reagan said.

About 10 minutes later, Yockey yelled again, this time demanding a pencil, Reagan wrote.

Jailers told him three times to hang up the phone and to enter his cell, Reagan wrote. When he did not, Officer Donald Hooper took hold of the receiver to end the call, prompting Yockey to yell threats to kill the officers, Reagan wrote.

Yockey allegedly punched Hooper in the mouth and on the side of the head. He allegedly punched Officer Stanley Drumm in the forehead and then tried to bite Drumm’s hand.

More officers arrived and used a Taser to subdue Yockey. He was placed in an isolation cell, Reagan said. Neither Drum nor Hooper suffered serious injuries.

Interstate 90 closure scheduled

Westbound Interstate 90 will be closed just west of downtown Spokane tonight so that crews can replace a sign bridge.

The closure between the Maple Street Bridge exit and the U.S. Highway 2 freeway interchange at the top of the Sunset Hill will begin at 10 p.m.

Westbound traffic will be detoured off the freeway at Maple and directed along Sunset Boulevard to the I-90 Geiger interchange.

Eastbound lanes won’t be affected.

Crews must close the westbound side to traffic to lift the sign structure into place. It spans all of the westbound lanes.

Police seek man who used knife in holdup

Spokane police are seeking a man who robbed a service station Monday night with an X-acto knife.

An employee at the Conoco station, located at 518 E. 29th Ave., told Spokane police that she was working at about 9:30 p.m. when a car containing three men pulled up. One got out, walked around the convenience store and then returned to the car.

The same man returned and held up an X-acto knife, showing a 1-inch blade, Spokane police spokesman Dick Cottam said in a press release.

The man with the knife reached over the counter and grabbed a small amount of cash and then fled in the car.

The robber was described as a black male who appeared to be about 30. He stood 6 feet 2, 275 pounds with short unkempt hair and no facial hair.

He was wearing a black leather coat with large pockets. The car appeared to be silver early 1990’s model Buick or Oldsmobile with Idaho license plates, Cottam said. It was a Kootenai County plate with 15 as its first digits.

Anyone with information is asked to call the department’s tips line at 242-8477.

School district seeks help with growth

Valley School District No. 70 in Stevens County will ask voters next month to approve a $3.9 million bond issue to help the school handle rapid growth.

The district has 175 students in its K-8 system, up from 140 students just five years ago, Superintendent Mark Selle said. It also has a network to provide educational assistance to 140 home-schooled students.

“We’re bulging at the seams, and feeling it every day,” he said.

The money would be used to add six new classrooms, a junior high gymnasium, a science lab, an art room and a music room. The district could also use some bond money on restoring the historic White School House, a one-room school built around 1901 that is still on the school grounds.

The building is not in use and might be remodeled for additional classroom space or moved to another site. The district is discussing different options for the schoolhouse with the community, Selle said.

The election is Feb. 8. The 21-year bond issue will require a supermajority of at least 60 percent to pass.

New Web cams offer look at road conditions

Travelers heading south on Highway 195 can check out road conditions by viewing two new Washington state Department of Transportation Web cameras.

The “Web cams” are stationed in Spangle and Uniontown. Crews use the images, temperatures and other information relayed from the site to assess what kinds of snow and ice control work are needed.

Highway web cameras have been popular across the state, said WSDOT spokesman Al Gilson.

“What we’ve found on a statewide basis is that whenever there’s inclement weather, our camera hits go up substantially — to the point it can bog down our Web site,” Gilson said.

He said some people have found creative uses for the cameras, including one man who called the department asking how often the pictures are refreshed. The man wanted a friend back East to see him on it.

Different cameras are refreshed with new images anywhere from several times a minute to once an hour.

Internet users can access the new Web cams, along with 32 other Eastern Washington cameras, at www.wsdot.wa.gov/regions/Eastern. If you want the weather information, visit http://wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/weather/.

Chewelah man arrested in December shooting

Shelton, Wash.

Two people have been arrested in the December shooting deaths of a couple on Hartstine Island, the Mason County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday.

Tony R. Williams, 50, of Chewelah, north of Spokane, and Jeaneane M. Mattis, 41 of Tracyton, north of Bremerton, were arrested for investigation of murder and robbery in the Dec. 17 deaths of Tolya “Tony” Tolias, 44, and his wife, Ilmira, 22, at the couple’s island home.

Mason County Superior Court Judge James Sawyer ordered both held without bail at a preliminary hearing Wednesday.

Detectives determined that Williams and Mattis went to the Tolias home early that day. Mattis made initial contact with the husband and then Williams approached and shot him. The intruders then found Tolias’ wife and shot her as well, detectives alleged. The investigation continues and additional arrests are possible, the Sheriff’s Office said.