Woman arrested after I-90 chase
A report Wednesday afternoon of a car going too slowly on Interstate 90 in Adams County led to a high-speed chase.
Trooper Jeff Sevigney said the westbound car “took off” when an officer tried to stop it. The vehicle did a U-turn across the median and fled east at speeds up to 88 mph, Sevigney said.
A spike strip about nine miles east of Ritzville blew out one of the vehicle’s tires and slowed it down. A second spike strip just east of the Spokane County line got another tire and brought the car’s speed down to 40 mph.
At that point, Sevigney said, a trooper did a “pit maneuver,” bumping a corner of the vehicle with his patrol car to cause the fleeing vehicle to spin out. Sevigney said the car, driven by 45-year-old Seattle resident Isabelle M. Athmann, veered into the median and rolled once.
Athmann, who had no passenger, was uninjured.
“She apparently has some history of mental issues,” Sevigney said, adding that there was no immediate indication that alcohol or other drugs played a role in the chase.
Athmann was taken to East Adams Rural Hospital in Ritzville for observation.
Man missing since Friday
Spokane police appealed Wednesday for information about a man who has been missing since Friday.
Relatives of 45-year-old Bud Robert Johnson told officers it wasn’t like Johnson to leave without telling anyone.
Johnson is white, 5 feet 4 inches, weighs 140 pounds, and has blond hair and brown eyes.
Anyone with information about Johnson is asked to call (509) 242-TIPS.
Man stabbed at Riverfront Park
A 25-year-old man was stabbed in the back in Riverfront Park on Tuesday night when a group of teenage boys became angry because he wouldn’t give them a cigarette, police said.
Officers caught two boys at Washington and North River Drive, and officers were looking for a third person Wednesday.
The 14- and 15-year-old boys who were arrested were booked into juvenile detention on suspicion of first-degree assault.
Spokane police spokesman Cpl. Tom Lee said the victim told officers a group of angry teenagers chased him near the park’s Ice Palace about 8:15 p.m., and ran north after one of them stabbed him in the back. The victim’s wound was not life-threatening.
Attorney’s license suspended
Spokane attorney F. Dale Jurdy’s law license was suspended, effective today, until officials decide whether he should be disbarred because of drug convictions.
Public records show Jurdy pleaded guilty in September to three counts of cocaine possession and was sentenced to a month in jail. The state Supreme Court suspended his license until disciplinary proceedings pending before the Washington State Bar Association are completed.
Purdy was admitted to the bar in June 1986. Bar records show he was censured in August 1997 for neglecting a case and mishandling the client’s fee.
Boise
Plan raises pay for Idaho leaders
The House is set to consider pay raises for Idaho’s statewide elected officials that by 2011 would boost the salary of the governor to $123,374, after the Senate voted 19-12 to approve the plan.
Outgoing Gov. Dirk Kempthorne makes $98,500.
He could be making $101,500, which is the limit set by Idaho law, but he turned down a raise.
The plan from Senate President Pro Tem Robert Geddes, R-Soda Springs, would give 5 percent raises over the next five years to the governor, treasurer, secretary of state, controller, lieutenant governor, attorney general and schools superintendent.
These officials haven’t had raises in five years.