Bail boosted in crash that killed toddler
A man charged with causing the crash that killed a toddler had his first appearance in court Monday.
Spokane District Court Commissioner Robert Seines more than doubled Michael Q. Beckley’s bond from $100,000 to $250,000, calling him “a very serious threat to the safety of this community.”
Beckley, 34, is charged with vehicular homicide. He has 11 past felony convictions and 20 felony warrants, Seines said.
According to court records, Beckley was driving a Chevrolet Blazer on May 23 when it slammed into a station wagon stopped at the intersection of Highway 2 and Day-Mt. Spokane Road. Gabriella Autry, who was 22 months old, later died from her injuries.
Authorities said Beckley admitted smoking methamphetamine five days before the crash. He reportedly said he had not slept in four or five days and was drowsy.
Beckley, who was arrested Saturday in north Spokane, declined a request for a jailhouse interview.
– Thomas Clouse
Ex-newspaper worker faces child porn counts
A former Spokesman-Review employee is facing 21 counts of possession of child pornography following a police investigation, officials confirmed Monday.
Zachary Lee Likarich, 29, is out of jail on bail pending a court hearing, said Spokane County Deputy Prosecutor Ed Hay.
According to a search warrant, numerous sexually explicit photographs and movies of children as young as 5 were found on a computer Likarich had been assigned as a marketing Web developer at the newspaper.
Likarich was hired as a graphic designer at The Spokesman-Review in October 2005. He transferred to the online marketing department in January 2006. He was fired Jan. 22 of this year when the pornography was discovered.
– Jody Lawrence-Turner
Man with slit throat one of two arrested in fight
Two men were arrested Monday after a brawl left one of them with a slit throat.
After undergoing surgery, Daniel W. Dunbar, 27, was arrested on an outstanding warrant for parole violation. The slash missed his carotid artery “by millimeters,” said Sgt. Dave Reagan, spokesman for the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office.
Eric W. Hensley, 23, was arrested for first-degree assault after allegedly slicing Dunbar’s throat.
Dunbar and four companions drove to the home of Dunbar’s ex-wife at 1:15 a.m. Sunday to pick up his children, Reagan reported.
Dunbar’s ex-wife was in the parking lot with a group that included Hensley, her cousin. A fight started, and Hensley cut Dunbar with a knife, Reagan said.
Dunbar’s friends took him to the hospital and called police.
– Nick Eaton