WSP makes 39 DUI arrests over weekend

The Washington State Patrol arrested 39 suspected drunken drivers over the weekend in Eastern Washington, Trooper Jeff Sevigney said.

The arrests were part of the agency’s holiday patrols, which began in November and continue through today.

Totals for the two-month effort won’t be available until later in the week, but according to figures released last week, the number of arrests appears to be down slightly compared with last year.

As of Dec. 26 troopers had netted 271 DUI arrests, and responded to 906 crashes, including 26 involving impaired drivers. During that same period last year, troopers made 319 arrests.

Troopers filled 79 extra shifts during the special patrols with funds provided by the Washington Traffic Safety Commission.

– Sara Leaming

Couple shot overnight while sitting in car

Two people were hospitalized after being shot while sitting in a parked car in northeast Spokane early New Year’s Day, police said Monday.

A man and a woman, both likely in their 20s, were wounded about 3 a.m., said Spokane police spokesman Cpl. Tom Lee. The man suffered a single gunshot wound; the woman was shot twice. They were in stable condition Monday morning, Lee said.

The unidentified couple apparently was sitting in a car parked in the 1600 block of East Rowan Avenue, Lee said. They didn’t immediately seek medical help or report the incident.

Instead, an officer patrolling for drunken drivers noticed the pair driving erratically in downtown Spokane. When he discovered they’d been shot, he summoned medical aid and they were taken to the hospital.

Officials from the police major crimes unit and the gang enforcement team are investigating the incident.

– JoNel Aleccia

Transient arrested in knife assault

A Spokane transient, 40, was arrested Monday after he slashed another man in the neck during a New Year’s celebration at a Spokane Valley home, police say.

Sherwin Lee Elston was arrested after police were called to a home in the 11700 block of East Nora about 1:30 a.m. for a report of a fight, said Sgt. Dave Reagan, Valley Police spokesman.

The male victim, 26, had apparently been trying to help remove Elston from the home after he became rowdy and belligerent and refused to leave. Elston allegedly pulled a knife and cut the man. A female attempting to remove the knife from Elston’s hand was also cut, Reagan said.

Neither wound was serious.

Elston was booked into the Spokane County Jail on suspicion of first-degree assault.

– Sara Leaming

Garage fire blamed on stove ashes

Ashes from a wood stove sparked a Sunday fire that damaged a Spokane garage but spared the house.

The ashes ignited a plastic garbage can in a garage at 5417 N. Cannon St., causing about $1,500 damage to a 16-square-foot section of a detached garage, Spokane Fire Department officials said. Seven vehicles including three fire engines responded to the incident at 11:07 a.m. Sunday.

The homeowner said the wood stove had not been used for two days before he cleaned it, and that the ashes had been stored in the plastic container for a day before the fire occurred. Still, it managed to ignite, fire officials said.

They urged other homeowners to discard ashes in nonflammable containers and to store the containers outside.

– JoNel Aleccia