In brief: Bomb found during marijuana search
A marijuana-growing bust on Thursday uncovered another illegal item: a small bomb.
After an investigation, police served a search warrant on 2007 W. Sinto Ave. Apt. 1 to look for pot and the person growing it, according to a Spokane police news release. They found 24 marijuana plants, methamphetamine, paraphernalia, scales, six rifles and a shotgun.
Not to mention an explosive device that required only its ingredients to mix for it to detonate, Officer Jennifer DeRuwe said.
Police arrested Robert J. Smith, 42, for possession of a controlled substance and manufacturing marijuana, according to the release.
Because he is a convicted felon, the guns were illegal for him to possess, adding seven counts of unlawful possession of a firearm. And he faces a charge of second-degree possession of stolen property because the shotgun was stolen, DeRuwe said.
Smith could also face charges for possession of an explosive device, a Class-C felony, the release states. Authorities also arrested Smith’s girlfriend, 49-year-old Cora R. Rosencrantz, for manufacturing marijuana.
Knezovich agrees with FBI’s RPS role
Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich said Friday he fully supports Spokane Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick’s decision to forward homicide allegations involving the River Park Square garage to the FBI.
Former Pend Oreille County Sheriff Tony Bamonte sent a letter dated Aug. 18 to Kirkpatrick and Knezovich urging them to open a manslaughter investigation into last year’s death of Jo Ellen Savage, who died after her car hit a barrier and fell from the garage’s fifth floor on April 8, 2006.
River Park Square is owned by the Cowles Co., which also owns The Spokesman-Review.
Kirkpatrick said she forwarded Bamonte’s letter and supporting documents to the FBI because of the city’s involvement in the garage. Bamonte has said he would prefer the case be handled by the Sheriff’s Office.
Even though manslaughter is a state crime, Knezovich said he has full faith in the FBI to examine the case. If federal investigators believe a crime was committed, they will forward it back to local jurisdictions, he said.
Coeur d’Alene
Vandal on video guilty in plea deal
Caught-on-tape vandal Darren Thiesen is guilty of committing a “felony stupid,” his attorney told 1st District Judge Fred Gibler during a sentencing hearing Friday at the Kootenai County Courthouse.
Attorney Fiona Kennedy asked Gibler to grant Thiesen, 24, a withheld judgment for breaking into and burglarizing a Hayden private investigations firm.
Thiesen was arrested in January on suspicion of felony burglary and felony malicious injury to property after surveillance footage from Confidential Investigations – showing Thiesen staring directly into the camera and trying to spray-paint the lens – was released to news media.
The felony burglary charge was dismissed through a plea deal.
Gibler sentenced Thiesen to supervised probation with a four-year prison sentence hanging over his head. Thiesen was ordered to pay restitution and spend 30 days in jail, with work release.
Ketchum, Idaho
Sun Valley prepares for wildfire
The snowmaking system at Sun Valley Resort near the central Idaho resort town of Ketchum has been filled with water in preparation for protecting ski lifts and lodges should a wildfire burning nearby reach the mountain.
Jack Sibbach, director of sales and marketing for the resort, said the lines were filled with water earlier this week, including some lines that haven’t been used in nearly 20 years. He also said workers have been staying overnight on Bald Mountain.
“We have a lot of hoses up top,” Sibbach said. “That is a last-ditch effort. The way the fire is moving, we’re in pretty good shape right now.”
The ski area on the 9,150-foot mountain is a centerpiece for the resort and draws vacationers from around the nation, as well as international visitors. The lifts run in the summer for sightseers, but they are now closed due to the Castle Rock Fire.
The lightning-caused fire that started last week has scorched 28 square miles and is 11 percent contained. Residents of about 100 homes remain under a mandatory evacuation, and residents of 200 more have been advised to leave. Many of the evacuated homes in the tony mountain town are worth millions of dollars.
Bob Beanblossom, public information officer, said 1,250 fire managers and firefighters, 72 engines and seven helicopters are now assigned to the blaze that he said is the top priority fire in the region.
Pocatello, Idaho
Teen killers receive life without parole
Two teenagers convicted of killing a high school classmate have been sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Brian Draper and Torey Adamcik were sentenced Friday by 6th District Court Judge Peter D. McDermott. Each received life sentences for first-degree murder and 30 years to life for conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.
Draper and Adamcik were convicted of killing Cassie Jo Stoddart. They were arrested Sept. 27, five days after Stoddart was stabbed as many as 30 times while housesitting for relatives.
All three were 16-year-old juniors at Pocatello High School at the time.
Mark Hiedeman, Bannock County prosecuting attorney, said the motive for the killing was that Draper and Adamcik, now 17, wanted to be famous like serial killers.
“And they wanted to both know how it felt to actually kill someone,” Hiedeman said Friday.
From staff and wire reports