In brief: Man says shooting was self-defense
A Moscow man charged with voluntary manslaughter told detectives he shot and killed 25-year-old Tyler Pace Lee in self-defense.
Bail was set at $10,000 Wednesday for 23-year-old James Curtis Leonard, who allegedly shot Lee three times early Tuesday, according to Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson.
Lee showed up at Leonard’s house near Genesee around 2:30 a.m. and accused Leonard of sleeping with his girlfriend, Leonard told police.
Lee had come to the house in the past with “bats, machetes and other things,” according to an affidavit from Detective Margaret Lehmbecker.
Leonard said he denied sleeping with Lee’s girlfriend and told Lee to go home, but Lee refused.
He told police that Lee hit him, he fell to the ground, and Lee jumped on top of him.
Leonard told police he pulled a handgun from his sweatshirt pocket and shot Lee after Lee threatened to kill him and others at the home, including Leonard’s son.
After he stood up, Leonard said Lee was still standing after being shot and began coming toward him, so he shot Lee two more times. Lee fell to the ground, Leonard said.
Though there were three other adults and two children home at the time of the shooting, there were no witnesses to the killing, according to Thompson.
Tuesday’s shooting was the fifth homicide this year in Latah County.
A University of Idaho student was shot and killed in March.
Last month a man killed his wife and then went on a shooting spree in Moscow, killing a police officer and another man before killing himself.
Leonard’s preliminary hearing is set for 10:30 a.m. July 3. A public defender was appointed Wednesday to represent him in court.
Worley
Driver alive after car soars 200 feet
An early morning crash Wednesday on U.S. Highway 95 near Worley sent the 25-year-old driver to the hospital.
According to the Idaho State Police, Jayaelynn Marie Matt was driving north at a high speed about 5:30 a.m. when she went onto the right shoulder and lost control of her 2002 Hyundai Elantra.
Matt was able to return to the roadway but went off the left shoulder, where she hit an embankment, launching the car 200 feet into the air.
When it landed on its top, Matt was partially ejected. She was not wearing a seat belt.
Matt was taken to Kootenai Medical Center, where she is in fair condition.
Coeur d’Alene
NIC employees get 6 percent raise
North Idaho College employees will see increases in paychecks beginning next month thanks to an across-the-board salary raise unanimously approved Wednesday night by the NIC Board.
The plan calls for an overall increase of 6 percent, but who gets what will depend on length of tenure and how much individual salaries differ from the competition.
As of about one year ago, NIC salaries were roughly 17 percent below market standards, according to the college.
“We are no longer positioned to readily attract and retain quality staff,” Interim President Priscilla Bell told the board.
Geology instructor Bill Richards, who attended his last meeting as chair of the 2006-07 faculty assembly, praised the board’s decision.
“I think it will go a long ways toward improving culture and climate especially,” he said.
Sexual harassment suit dismissed
A sexual harassment and gender discrimination lawsuit against a Coeur d’Alene auto dealership has been dismissed.
U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge on Tuesday dismissed all claims filed by former employee Carissa Heustis against Dave Smith Motors.
Heustis, who worked as a saleswoman, alleged the general manager of Dave Smith’s Frontier Leasing and Sales made sexual advances toward her and refused to speak to her for weeks after she rebuffed his advances.
She also alleged her supervisor used vulgar language and told off-color jokes and that there was a hostile work environment.
Lodge ruled that Heustis failed to provide enough evidence to support her claims.
Post Falls
Woman accused of biting toddler
A Greenacres woman was arrested Tuesday for allegedly beating her toddler in the parking lot of the Post Falls Dollar Tree.
Post Falls Police say Jessica A. Neve, 28, admitted to biting the toddler on the thigh because the child was “completely out of control.” She was charged with misdemeanor injury to a child.
A woman sitting in a car in the parking lot reported the alleged abuse to police. She said she heard “blood-curdling” screams and saw Neve dragging the toddler on the ground by the arm.
The woman told police Neve picked the child up, hit her numerous times and then threw the child on the ground, according to police reports.
Neve told police the girl was misbehaving and upset because she wanted a sucker.
The toddler’s older brother told police some of the girl’s injuries were caused by the family cat, the report said.
Spokane
Reward offered for assault suspect
After five days of unsuccessful searching, authorities have now set up a reward for information leading to the capture of assault suspect Justin T. Carter.
On Saturday, Carter allegedly forced his way into an apartment at 1831 E. Mission Ave. and pistol-whipped a man while the man’s children watched.
Carter allegedly then pointed the gun at all three victims and threatened to kill them.
Arresting Carter has been a priority for police since the incident.
Spokane Police Sgt. Joe Walker said Tuesday that a reward usually isn’t needed unless the trail has grown cold.
Carter, 27, is white, 5-foot-9, weighs 140 pounds, has brown eyes and black hair, Walker said. He could face nine felony counts. The Secret Witness tip line is (509) 327-5111.
Not guilty plea in child porn case
A Spokane man pleaded not guilty Wednesday to 21 counts of possessing child pornography that police allege he obtained while working as an online marketing developer for The Spokesman-Review.
Zachary L. Likarich, 29, appeared Wednesday before Superior Court Judge Michael Price. Likarich answered “not guilty” as Price read each of the 21 counts, officially called “depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit contact.”
Likarich and his attorney, John Perry, declined comment after the hearing.
Likarich was fired from the newspaper Jan. 22, which is the same day the newspaper’s online publisher, Ken Sands, and an attorney reviewed the contents of a computer that had been assigned to Likarich and contacted police.
He had been hired on Oct. 5, 2005, as a graphic designer and later transferred to the online marketing department. Spokane police Detective Jerry Keller said in court records that a newspaper photo archivist discovered the sexually explicit photographs and movies of children as young as 5 when she opened a computer folder on the company’s internal network.
Possession of child pornography is punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Price set Likarich’s trial for Sept. 10.