In brief: Shopko guard helps nab wanted couple

A Spokane detective’s photos and e-mails warning of a couple under investigation for forgery paid off Friday when an attentive Shopko security guard recognized the duo on the store’s surveillance cameras.

Rhonda R. Fisher, 39, and Daryl W. Campbell, 45, were booked into Spokane County Jail on several charges, including possession of stolen property in the first and second degree, attempting to elude police, forgery, and unlawful possession of a financial instrument, said Spokane police spokesman Officer Tim Moses.

About 2:30 p.m., the security guard called police from the store’s South Hill location and gave a license plate number of the car the couple was in, which turned out to be stolen, Moses said. After a short pursuit, the two were arrested at 27th Avenue and Thor Street.

“We recovered a lot of stolen credit cards, stolen checks and stolen identification including Social Security cards and drivers’ licenses,” Moses said. “We solved a lot of cases with this arrest.”

Police chase ends in Riverfront Park

The driver of a stolen pickup led Spokane police on a short chase Friday morning, driving over sidewalks and ending when he smashed into a concrete sculpture in Riverfront Park.

The chase began about 8 a.m. when someone reported a man slumped over the wheel of a blue Ford pickup in an alley near Ash Street and Nora Avenue.

When police ran the plates, they found the pickup had been reported stolen, but when they arrived at the scene, the driver took off. He drove over sidewalks even after getting two flat tires.

The driver ultimately ended up traveling the wrong way on Spokane Falls Boulevard and then driving into Riverfront Park at Howard Street, near the carousel, where he hit a sculpture in the park.

Police arrested Jeffrey S. Rathbone-Smith, 38, on charges of residential burglary, felony attempting to elude police and first-degree possession of stolen property.

Deaconess building evacuated

Deaconess Medical Center’s Health and Education Building was evacuated for about one hour Friday morning after occupants smelled an odor that firefighters later identified as propane. The hospital was not affected.

Spokane firefighters evacuated the building as a precautionary measure, said Deaconess Medical Center spokeswoman Rachel Andrews.

The Spokane Fire Department said the odor likely was caused by a propane-operated forklift working near an air intake. Doctors’ offices in the building were evacuated.

Spokane County

Searchers rescue two hunters

A 30-year-old man and a 13-year-old boy were rescued late Friday near Tyler after a family member reported they didn’t return home from a hunting excursion earlier in the day.

The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office’s helicopter and search-and-rescue team located the two in an area near Lance Hill and Pine Springs about 10:15 p.m., officials said.

A rescue effort was launched quickly Friday night because the cold weather was considered a dangerous situation, said Sgt. Dave Reagan, a Sheriff’s Office spokesman. Temperatures were in the mid-20s.

The rescue effort took approximately two hours.

OLYMPIA

Man seeks permit to burn flag

The state is unlikely to grant a permit to a man who wants to burn a Mexican flag on the steps of the state Capitol, because of air pollution concerns.

Nick Bradford, of Tacoma, said he wants to burn the flag when the legislative session opens in January to encourage the state to do more to crack down on illegal immigrants, including allowing local police to arrest people who enter the country illegally.

“Obviously, the protest is intended to get the attention of the public, but also the politicians here, in Washington,” Bradford said. “We can’t always bark at the other Washington and George Bush. We can do things locally here.”

Bradford recently called Visitors Services at the Capitol to ask about burning a flag on the steps, but officials weren’t sure it was allowed.

The Department of General Administration, which operates the building, checked with the Olympia Fire Department, which said any burning would have to be cleared by the Olympic Region Clean Air Agency, said department spokesman Steve Valandra.

“Flag burning is a form of protected free speech, so if he wanted to get a permit to do this, GA would grant it to him, as long as he abided by whatever other preconditions existed,” Valandra said.

But there’s little chance the clean air agency would allow a permit, said Richard Stedman, executive director of the agency.

“Burning a flag produces a lot of toxic materials, such as dioxins, which are contained in the pigments and dyes,” he said. “We would probably cite the person for burning prohibited materials. It’s illegal to burn anything in the urban growth area.”