Home invader receives three years in prison

Justice Alan Erickson, sidekick to runaway bridegroom Jeremy Allen Arnold, was sentenced Thursday to nearly three years in prison for his role in a violent home-invasion robbery last October.

Erickson, 22, pleaded guilty to first-degree burglary and conspiracy to commit first-degree robbery and faced a standard range of 34 1/2 to 45 3/4 months in prison. Superior Court Judge Linda Tompkins gave him the minimum.

Erickson and Arnold were among five people responsible for an armed invasion of a home at 3124 E. Fairview that was occupied by four adults and three children. Court documents indicate the suspects expected to get money and drugs from one of the occupants.

Arnold, 28, pleaded guilty to various felonies in the home invasion and other violent incidents and was granted a one-week furlough in May to get married before going to prison. Authorities thought at first that Arnold and his wife, Stephanie Chandler, might just be extending their honeymoon, but they caught Arnold a week later in another woman’s home.

Others who pleaded guilty in the home invasion, in which one of the victims was pistol-whipped, are Eric James Vincent Singleton, 24, and Tia N. Thompson, 22.

Deandre S. Gaither, 25, charged with first-degree robbery and first-degree burglary, remains at large.

Valley Mayor Diana Wilhite announces re-election bid

Offering free cups of lemonade and “refreshing leadership” to the voters of Spokane Valley, Mayor Diana Wilhite announced she will seek re-election Tuesday.

“Having served on the City Council gives you an advantage,” she said as supporters next to a cardboard lemonade stand waived to traffic at the west end of the Sprague-Appleway couplet.

Wilhite and other council members were elected three years ago when the Spokane Valley incorporated, and all seven council seats will be up for election this November. The four candidates with the most votes will serve four-year terms, with the others staying in office for only two years in order to stagger the terms. The next council will select a mayor when it convenes in January.

Wilhite was chosen as the city’s second mayor by council members last November.

“She’s not an untouchable person,” said Tracy Zepeda, a branch manager at Farmers and Merchants Bank who came out to support Wilhite. Zepeda moved to Spokane Valley two years ago and said the mayor and council have been more accessible than in other places she has lived.

In addition to her duties as mayor, Wilhite also serves on the Spokane Area Economic Development Council, the National Association of Women Business Owners and the Spokane Area Workforce Development Council.

“It’s really important that we have a vibrant and thriving business community,” she said.

Wilhite, 59, moved to Spokane Valley in 1978 and has owned Safeguard Business and Promotional Products with her husband, Rick, since 1981.

She listed the construction of a wastewater treatment plant, as well as implementing the city’s new comprehensive land use and parks plans as challenges that will face the next council.

Police to start ticketing riders without helmets

The time for warnings is over.

Starting today, Spokane Police will be ticketing people caught biking, skateboarding or skating without helmets.

The fine is $52.

Officers have been giving violators warnings over the past few months. They have focused their efforts on skate parks and the Centennial Trail.

A helmet costs just $25 on average, according to Spokane Police.

So if you use your head, it’s $27 cheaper to buy a helmet than pay a ticket.

And free helmets are available at local COPS shops and the Spokane Regional Health District.

Hayden Lake couple wins home in NIC’s big raffle

A Hayden Lake couple won the grand prize Wednesday in North Idaho College’s Really BIG Raffle drawing.

Gerald and Sharlene Wiedenhoff won a $200,000 home in the Post Falls Montrose subdivision, built by students in NIC’s carpentry program.

Diana and James Raess of Coeur d’Alene won a $20,000 car or boat; C.B. Marcinkowski of Post Falls won a $3,500 travel package; and Nancy Noordam of Post Falls won a $2,000 shopping spree.

About 2,500 people gathered at NIC’s Fort Sherman Park for the raffle drawing, which raised $180,000 for the NIC Foundation. The Foundation provides funding for student scholarships and construction projects and also supports the college in other ways.

In the 12 years the raffle has been held, more than $1.6 million has been raised for the foundation.