Extortionist gets six months in jail
A man received a sentence Monday of six months in jail after he earlier pleaded guilty to extorting money from a Ferris High School student who had refused to buy him beer. Superior Court Judge Linda Tompkins sentenced Yuriy V. Sipko, 21, after he previously pleaded guilty to first-degree extortion.
According to police, the Ferris student agreed to meet Sipko and other suspects on March 12, 2005, at NorthTown mall to settle a dispute about a girl. When the victim arrived, Sipko demanded the student give him cash after the victim refused to buy the group beer, according to court records.
When the teen said he didn’t have cash, Sipko took his bank card, driver’s license and cell phone and escorted him to an ATM, court records say. When the suspects discovered he had only $11, they demanded $100. The student called police, who set up a sting operation at Fred Meyer at 400 S. Thor St., according to court records. A police officer was in the student’s car.
Sipko approached the victim and threatened “great bodily harm” to him and his family and friends if he didn’t pay $150, court records state.
Hearing scheduled on shoreline plan
Proposed standards for development along lakes, rivers and streams in Spokane County will be up for debate Thursday.
The county has been working since 2004 to update its shoreline management program to make it compliant with new state laws. The plan regulates development along lakes, the Spokane and Little Spokane rivers, and Latah, Dragoon, Rock, Pine, Deadman and Deep creeks.
Among numerous changes, the plan would create stricter regulations along dozens of miles of waterfront designated as “high-quality areas.”
It also would eliminate a county rule regulating that drain fields be built at least 10 feet from the top of a water table. Drain fields absorb waste from septic tanks.
The plan needs the support of Spokane County commissioners and the state Department of Ecology.
The public hearing will be held by the Spokane Planning Commission at 11 a.m. Thursday at the Spokane County Public Works Building, 1026 W. Broadway. The meeting will run until the last person speaks or 5 p.m. – whatever happens first.
Pancake promo to help youth
IHOP restaurants in Spokane, Spokane Valley and Coeur d’Alene will offer a free short stack of pancakes all day today to help support area Young Life youth groups.
The promotion is part of National Pancake Day, a centuries-old tradition in England known as Shrove Tuesday. Customers are invited to make a donation to Young Life for every short stack of pancakes served. Young Life is a multidenominational outreach ministry that strives to build relationships with teenagers and help them navigate adolescence.
Police seek woman in robbery
Spokane police are looking for a woman caught on tape while robbing a north Spokane convenience store Saturday.
The woman entered the Holiday gas station, 9720 N. Newport Highway, about 12:30 a.m. and pulled a handgun she had tucked into the waistband of her pants, said Cpl. Tom Lee, police spokesman.
She drove away in a car after receiving some cash.
The woman was Hispanic, 35 to 40 years old, about 5 feet 2 inches tall and heavyset. She had long, curly brown hair and was wearing a dark-blue zippered sweatshirt, Lee said.
Anyone with information should call (509) 242-TIPS.
Compiled from staff reports