In brief: Homicide charges filed in woman’s death
A 19-year-old man was charged Friday with deliberate homicide and ordered held without bail in the death of a teenage girl whose body was found on a road near Arlee.
Kelly Birmingham, also known as Kelly Stanfield, was also charged with felony escape for allegedly kicking out the window of a patrol vehicle and jumping out while he was being taken to jail.
His father, Wayne Stanfield, of Arlee, died May 27 in a motorcycle crash on Interstate 90 near Missoula.
Two days later, the body of 18-year-old Tasheena Craft was found on South Couture Loop.
Authorities earlier said she had been beaten in the head. But a forensic pathologist at the state crime lab later told Lake County investigators she was likely strangled with an object such as a cord or rope.
Investigators said Birmingham was friends with Craft’s boyfriend and that the two knew each other vaguely.
Craft’s half brother, Shonto Pete of Spokane said Craft had been living with him and attending high school for the past year. He said she was back in Arlee visiting family and her boyfriend when she was killed.
Pete has been in the news recently after he was shot in the head in February by off-duty Spokane police Officer James Olsen.
Pete recovered from his wounds and has been charged with second-degree vehicle theft in the case, while Olsen – legally drunk at the time of the shooting – has been charged with first-degree assault and reckless endangerment.
– Associated Press
Coeur d’Alene
Free concerts begin in Panhandle parks
A series of free summer concerts in area parks begins today, with the band Ben “Preslee” Klein and the Rockabillies playing Elvis hits, doo-wop and oldies, 1-4 p.m. in Coeur d’Alene’s City Park.
The Sunday concerts in City Park will continue June 10 and 17, every Sunday in July, and Aug. 12 and 19. All are 1-4 p.m. Music will range from rhythm and blues to big band swing to country and western.
Handshake Productions, which stages the series, also has scheduled free concerts Tuesday nights at Sherman Square Park in downtown Coeur d’Alene. Those performances will be 6-8:30 p.m. June 19 through Aug. 28.
Free Wednesday concerts are planned at Hayden City Park, behind City Hall, July 11 to Aug. 15 from 6-8:30 p.m.
In Rathdrum, the concert series will be Fridays, 6-8:30 p.m., at Rathdrum City Park on Highway 53 at Latah Road. The shows will be July 6, 13 and 27, and Aug. 3 and 10.
Three free concerts also will be held in Blanchard, Idaho, at the StoneRidge Golf Community, 364 Stoneridge Rd.
For information, call Handshake Productions at (208) 667-3162.
– Staff reports
Post Falls
Public invited to land-use meetings
A group of Kootenai County residents will hold a meeting at 6 p.m. Monday to discuss proposed amendments to the county’s comprehensive plan, the foundation for all land-use actions. The meeting will be in Room 2 of the Post Falls Library.
The citizen groups will draft a proposal to submit to county planning commissioners regarding the comprehensive plan. For more information, call (208) 667-8550.
The Kootenai Environmental Alliance then will sponsor a “Dialog to Action” workshop from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on June 9 at First Presbyterian Church, 521 E. Lakeside Ave., in Coeur d’Alene. Findings will be presented to the county’s planning commission. Call (208) 667-9093 for information.
– Staff reports