Judge to decide if Shasta will testify
Kootenai County Prosecutor Bill Douglas is deferring to the judge to decide if a hearing is needed to determine whether Shasta Groene is capable of testifying against accused killer Joseph Edward Duncan.
In a motion filed Friday, Douglas said the state believes the 9-year-old is “fully competent.”
State law says the court can conduct a hearing to determine whether witnesses under age 10 are fit to testify. The hearing is conducted in the judge’s chambers with the judge asking questions submitted by both the defense and prosecutors.
Duncan is set to go on trial April 4 for the May 2005 murders of Shasta’s mother, Brenda Groene, 13-year-old brother Slade, and her mother’s boyfriend, Mark McKenzie. Federal charges are pending for the kidnapping of Shasta and her brother, Dylan, and for Dylan’s death.
Douglas on Friday also filed a list of those who may testify against Duncan, in addition to Shasta.
The witness list includes her father, Steve Groene; the parents of Brenda Groene and McKenzie; the neighbor who found the bodies; several law enforcement officers; and investigators and experts in everything from fingerprints and firearms to DNA.
Man charged in hunter’s shooting files plea
The man who shot and killed a Spokane Valley man hunting in Idaho filed a written innocent plea Friday in Benewah County court, officials said.
Raleigh Paul Turley is charged with involuntary manslaughter in the Nov. 30 death of 30-year-old Casey Lawson. Turley told police he thought he was shooting at a deer.
Lawson was returning to a truck with a friend after hunting with a friend in an area north of Plummer, Idaho, police said. Lawson was shot in the chest.
The Spokane Valley man’s death was the first of the hunting season.
Turley, a 24-year-old North Idaho resident, is out on bail, according to the Benewah County prosecutor’s office.
Sketch of indecent exposure suspect released
Sheriff’s detectives released a drawing Friday of a man suspected of exposing and fondling himself at the Spokane Valley Mall.
The Monday evening incident was reported by a mother and her 10-year-old daughter, who spotted the man while shopping in the picture frames area of the Linens ‘n Things store. The man covered himself and left the store when he realized he had been seen.
The mother reported the incident immediately, but the suspect got away.
Detective John Grandinetti said the woman helped an artist prepare a sketch of the man and reported the likeness was very good, although she wasn’t sure whether he was wearing glasses.
Anyone with information about the suspect is asked to call (509) 242-TIPS (242-8477).
Man attacked, robbed trying to stop fight
A man who tried to intervene in a fight early Friday outside the Big Easy was attacked, punched and robbed, police said.
The 51-year-old victim was found lying unconscious when officers arrived about 2:15 a.m., Spokane police spokesman Dick Cottam said. Medics took the man to an area hospital.
Witnesses told police that several women inside the Big Easy, 929 W. Sprague Ave., exchanged words, then went outside, where the fight started, Cottam said. After the man was attacked when he tried to stop the fight, someone stole money from his wallet, police said.
The women left the area before officers arrived, Cottam said. Witnesses told police several of the women piled into a forest-green Honda Accord two-door with a large dent on the driver’s side.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call (509) 242-TIPS.
Cantwell to urge Medicare deadline extension
Today in Spokane, U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., is expected to call on federal officials to extend the enrollment deadline for seniors eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid, the joint state and federal health care program for the poor.
Many of these seniors tend to be poor and suffering from mental illnesses; they were placed in prescription drug plans based on their ZIP codes rather than an evaluation of which plan would work best for them, the senator’s office said in a prepared statement.
Cantwell will use a 1:30 p.m. appearance at the Community Health Association of Spokane Clinic to urge extension of the deadline.
Memorial service for Bleck being held today
A memorial service for Spokane businessman, philanthropist and political leader Clay Bleck is scheduled for this morning at the Unitarian Universalist Church.
Bleck, who owned several car dealerships in Spokane starting in the 1950s, died in late December at 82. He was a former treasurer for the state Democratic Party and former board chairman of the Spokane chapter of Volunteers of America.
The memorial service is set for 11 a.m. at the church, 4340 W. Fort George Wright Drive.
Accidents cause delays, minor injuries on I-90
Two pileups, involving eight vehicles, snarled traffic on Interstate 90 for more than two hours Friday evening.
The Washington State Patrol said no one was hurt when six cars collided in the eastbound lanes near the Maple Street exit, but five people suffered minor injuries when two more vehicles crashed. Two drivers, one in each collision, were cited for following too closely.
A WSP spokesman said the chain reaction began when one vehicle rear-ended another at 5:43 p.m. The driver who caused the accident veered into the center lane and was struck by two more vehicles. Then another car moved to the left lane in an effort to avoid the pileup but was struck by a sixth vehicle.
Shortly after that, a seventh car managed to stop in time but was rear-ended by yet another car.
The two leftmost lanes for eastbound traffic were blocked for an hour and 10 minutes, and one of those remained closed for an hour and five minutes more.