In brief: Rapist improperly sentenced, court rules

A 46-year-old Spokane County child rapist must either have his prison sentence reduced or his post-release supervision eliminated, the Washington Court of Appeals has ruled.

The Spokane branch of the court said this week that Gerald Lee Hooper Jr. was improperly sentenced in December 2005 to a combination of prison time and probation that exceeded the 10-year maximum for his crimes.

Spokane County Superior Court Judge Harold Clarke III gave Hooper 10 years in prison and 36 to 48 months of probation for his convictions on sexual exploitation of a minor, third-degree child rape, third-degree child molestation and possession of photos of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

The convictions involved a teenage girl Hooper molested for years and eventually took as his live-in sex partner. He was convicted of raping her when she was 14 and 15 years old.

Sentencing guidelines usually provide a standard range well short of the statutory maximum, but Hooper was convicted of so many “most serious” crimes that the guidelines called for the statutory-maximum 10 years. But that includes probation, according to a three-judge appellate panel.

– John Craig

Firefighter recruits will join force

For the first time in three years, the Spokane Fire Department is adding new firefighters to its ranks.

Six recruits are scheduled to graduate at a 10 a.m. ceremony today, and they are the department’s first new firefighters since 48 positions were eliminated and 29 people were laid off in 2005, Assistant Chief Brian Schaeffer said.

The graduates are Jason Keen, Chad Shaw, Jon Stevens, Andrew “A.J.” Polomis, Mike Kulsrud and Ty Bates. Shaw, Stevens and Polomis are from Spokane, according to a news release.

They are filling six vacancies, most of which are open because of retirement, Schaeffer said.

– Nick Eaton

Adolfae gets city job after firing by mayor

The city’s longtime community development director, who was fired earlier this year by Mayor Dennis Hession, has returned to a city job.

Earlier this month, Mike Adolfae started working as a city planner, the job he held before he was named community development director in 1981.

Glenn Kibbey, Spokane’s civil service chief examiner, said the city charter allows administrators who previously held a city civil service job to bump back into their previous role if fired by the mayor.

He said the provision is meant to protect workers from sudden changes at the top.

When he announced the firing, Hession said he took the action because Adolfae didn’t share his vision. The decision caused an outpouring of anger from some neighborhood leaders who supported Adolfae.

Adolfae, who started work at City Hall in 1973, will take an open planning position and earn close to $68,000 a year. That’s a pay cut from about $85,000 a year when he was community development director.

– Jonathan Brunt