2 arrested after Jeep set on fire

A 20-year-old Post Falls woman is in jail after allegedly stealing her grandfather’s Jeep and setting it on fire when it got stuck in the snow on top of Fernan Saddle.

Brandy Michelle Vanderzanden was arrested Monday evening on suspicion of arson and possessing stolen property. Her friend Robert D. Mann, 18, also was arrested on suspicion of grand theft and arson.

Vanderzanden told Kootenai County sheriff’s deputies that she took the keys to the 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee from her mother’s purse and let Mann drive her and her dog to Fernan Saddle.

Vanderzanden told the deputy that when the Jeep got stuck, Mann put a towel in the gas tank and lit it on fire. Initially, Vanderzanden told deputies that she drove the Jeep and set it on fire.

Deputies responded to a report that a vehicle had been left at the top of Fernan Saddle and that three people were walking down the hill with a dog.

The name of the third person wasn’t released in the report.

When a deputy arrived at the intersection of Fernan Saddle and Fernan Lake Road, the Jeep was engulfed in flames.

Court records show Vanderzanden was found guilty of disturbing the peace in December, and Mann has been charged with previous misdemeanors.

Secret Witness group begins in Idaho

A new citizens group has begun working with Kootenai County law enforcement agencies to help solve “cold” criminal cases.

Secret Witness of Kootenai County aims to generate public interest and clues in unsolved crimes, according to a statement issued Tuesday announcing the group.

The nonprofit organization includes a committee of residents who work with local law enforcement.

The program was started with help from the Secret Witness program in Spokane and the Spokane Police Department, according to Coeur d’Alene police Sgt. Christie Wood.

Secret Witness of Kootenai County has already received its first donation: $1,000 from the Idaho Independent Bank.

Money donated to the program will be used to reward people who help solve crimes.

Anonymous tipsters may call the program at (208) 667-2111.

Contributions to Secret Witness of Kootenai County may be sent to P.O. Box 3453, Hayden, ID 83835.

New member chosen for dietetic board

Tanya Chestnut, director of Panhandle Health District’s Health Promotion Division, has been appointed to the state Dietetic Licensure Board.

The board governs the issuance of licenses to professional dieticians in Idaho.

Chestnut was appointed to the four-member panel by the Idaho State Board of Medicine. Her term will run through 2009.

Division supervisor since 2001, Chestnut directs the Women, Infants and Children program and related nutrition contracts; all population-based health education programs, such as tobacco prevention, injury prevention, asthma, diabetes, oral health and adolescent pregnancy prevention; and all child-care programs.

Suspect sought in hotel burglary

The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office has identified a suspect in a burglary Thursday at a Hayden hotel.

Police received a tip that the man seen in surveillance photos at the Holiday Inn Express is Jesse W. Nippert, 24, whose address is unknown.

Nippert may have left Monday for Seattle or Montana, according to a Sheriff’s Office news release.

The suspect allegedly stole money from a cash drawer at the hotel when workers at the front desk briefly left the area. Authorities would not disclose how much money was taken.

Nippert was last seen driving a stolen maroon and silver 2000 Chevrolet Silverado pickup with West Virginia license plate NB7446, the release said. The vehicle reportedly has an American flag and eagle across the back window.

An outstanding felony warrant from Ohio charges Nippert with two counts of forgery.

Anyone with information on the suspect is asked to call the Sheriff’s Office at (208) 446-1300.

Man charged with molesting 3 girls

A Post Falls man is being held on $300,000 bail on charges he molested three young girls who stayed overnight at the home he shares with his fiancee.

Billy Quentin Jemison, 41, was charged Monday with three felony counts of lewd conduct with children under age 16.

An 8-year-old girl told police that she spent the night at the home on Thursday with her two friends and woke up before they did, according to police reports. She said she went to the living room, found Jemison sitting in a chair and sat next to him.

The girl said that’s when Jemison began to touch her.

Later in the day, the girl told her friend’s mother what had happened, reports said.

According to the police reports, Jemison told police that he had also touched the other two girls – ages 7 and 9 – on prior occasions.

In a written statement attached to the police report, Jemison said he had touched the girls “mostly out of curiosity.”

He wrote that he hoped he would be forgiven by his fiancee and the children.