Jailer fired for alleged assault on prisoner
Sheriff Mark Sterk fired a Spokane County Jail deputy Tuesday for allegedly assaulting an inmate with pepper spray.
The corrections officer, Steven P. Skinner, 36, was charged with third-degree assault Feb. 16, a week after Sterk placed him on administrative leave pending a criminal investigation.
An investigation showed that Skinner pepper-sprayed an inmate who had fallen asleep after yelling and trying to flood his cell by plugging the toilet and flushing repeatedly, according to Sterk. He said the incident occurred Jan. 22, when the inmate was arrested on suspicion of disorderly conduct.
Sterk said the inmate didn’t tell jail administrators about being pepper-sprayed, and they didn’t get the details until Feb. 9.
“(Skinner’s) actions cannot be justified or condoned, and denigrate the work and reputation of the rest of our very professional jail staff,” the sheriff said.
Skinner is free without bail while awaiting trial in Superior Court.
– John Craig
Small school districts seeking OKs on levies
The Riverside and Great Northern school districts are among the Spokane County districts asking for voter approval of maintenance and operations levies March 14.
The two small districts were not included in a Saturday story on districts seeking levies or bonds during the special election.
Great Northern, west of Spokane and north of Airway Heights, is asking voters to approve a two-year levy of $2.58 per $1,000 assessed valuation, or $387 a year for a $150,000 home. The levy would raise about $135,000 a year.
Riverside is seeking voter approval of a three-year replacement levy totaling $1.7 million in 2007, $1.8 million in 2008, and $1.9 million in 2009. The measure would cost taxpayers $3.11 per $1,000 assessed valuation in 2007, $3.24 in 2008, and $3.36 in 2009.
The Spokane County Elections Office began mailing the ballots last Tuesday, with the remainder going out today and Thursday. All ballots are due back by March 14.
– Sara Leaming
Pend Oreille officials seize pound of meth
A Pend Oreille County man is to be arraigned Thursday in the largest methamphetamine bust in the county’s history.
Authorities say Thomas Roger Jones, 53, of 481 Hope Road, was caught with more than a pound of meth. The previous record in Pend Oreille County was a one-half pound seizure in the Ione area in 2003.
When Detective Ray Kahler and others raided Jones’ home about 12 miles northwest of Newport, Wash., on Friday, they also found antlers from moose and woodland caribou as well as plankton-straining whale bones known as baleen, according to Deputy Janet Reed. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is investigating the possible violation of state wildlife laws.
Reed said evidence seized at Jones’ home also included other drugs, $5,000 in cash, firearms, vehicles and “thousands and thousands of little baggies” of the sort used to distribute illegal drugs. Jones also was arrested on suspicion of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
So far, Jones has been formally charged only with possessing methamphetamine with intent to deliver.
– John Craig