In brief: More charges filed against pastor
The Spokane pastor who led police on a 10 block chase in a Corvette had additional charges filed against him Thursday.
Herman Lewis, 49, now faces a first-degree attempted rape charge as well as an indecent liberties charge in connection with the April 30 incident.
Lewis – pastor of Morning Star Baptist Church – is charged with attempting to abduct and rape a waitress at Shari’s Restaurant at Monroe Street and Northwest Boulevard.
Police said in court documents that Lewis attempted to pay the waitress $50 to have sex with him in a Corvette parked outside. When the waitress refused, Lewis then tried to grab the woman and force her out.
If Lewis is convicted of all charges, he faces at least 20 years in prison. He remained in the Spokane County Jail on Thursday night.
Man whom officer shot under arrest
The man shot by a Spokane police officer after pulling a gun has been placed under arrest, officials announced Thursday.
Spokane Valley resident Ryan L. Patterson, 26, has been charged with first-degree assault, unlawful possession of a firearm and possession of methamphetamine, said Spokane County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Dave Reagan.
Patterson, who was hospitalized for being shot once in the jaw, has been upgraded to stable condition.
Early Tuesday morning, Eric Gilberts called police because a man was lying on the front porch of his home at 1739 E. Wabash. Spokane police Officer Todd Brownlee arrived, and there was a confrontation. The officer attempted to stop the suspect by using his Taser, but it was ineffective, Reagan said, and Patterson pulled a gun.
“Patterson, a previously-convicted felon, is prohibited from possessing firearms,” Reagan said.
Brownlee, who has been with the Spokane Police Department since 1996, remains on paid administrative leave while the Sheriff’s Office and Spokane police detectives investigate the incident.
Nine Mile Falls
Man hospitalized after car rollover
Two men were injured in a one-car rollover crash Wednesday near Nine Mile Falls.
Authorities say they suspect alcohol was a factor.
The crash occurred about 7:39 p.m. in the 21500 block of South Bank Road, said Spokane County Fire District 9 Deputy Chief Doug Bleeker.
The Sheriff’s Office reported that the pair was returning to Spokane after an outing to shoot a shotgun.
When firefighters arrived, the driver was out of the car, but crews had to cut the passenger out.
The 20-year-old passenger, Mark A. Woods, of Airway Heights, was severely injured and was sent to Seattle for reconstructive surgery on his face. He was listed in stable condition, Sgt. Dave Reagan, a sheriff’s spokesman, said in a press release.
The 21-year-old driver, Kevin A. Hillebrandt, of 7011 N. Atlantic in Spokane, was treated at a Spokane hospital and released, Reagan said.
Hillebrandt was driving Woods’ Pontiac Fiero and lost control on a curve, causing the car to flip onto its roof, Reagan said.
WSP troopers seize marijuana
The Washington State Patrol seized 2 pounds of marijuana and $6,000 cash Thursday morning after stopping a speeding driver.
It’s the second marijuana seizure in two days. On Wednesday, 3 pounds of marijuana and several hundred dollars were seized.
WSP spokesman Trooper Mark Baker said the two drug busts are more marijuana than the Spokane WSP drug team seized in all of last year.
About 8 a.m. Thursday, a trooper was on Highway 195 near Cheney-Spokane Road when he observed a Subaru going 68 mph in a 55 mph zone and pulled over the vehicle, Baker said. The trooper could smell a strong odor of marijuana coming from the car and arrested the driver on suspicion of possessing the drug.
WSP’s drug dog, Pickles, was brought to the scene to check for narcotics. A red bag, containing marijuana and cash, was found on the floor of the car, Baker said.
The driver, Richard J. Ludvik, 46, was charged with possession with intent to deliver and possession of a controlled substance, Baker said.
Judge lifts order against officer
A Spokane police detective charged with threatening to kill his estranged wife won a small courtroom victory Thursday.
A court order prohibiting Detective Jay P. Mehring, 39, from contacting his wife, Lisa Mehring, was lifted by Superior Court Judge Sam Cozza. The wife’s lawyer, Christian Phelps, said his client had no objection to the move.
Cozza also granted permission for Jay Mehring to leave the state to work at a job in Montana. He remains free on $100,000 bail pending his trial, which is set for July 9.
Mehring is accused of threatening, in front of his 10-year-old son and a police sergeant, to kill his wife by burning the family’s Green Bluff-area home.
Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick placed Mehring on unpaid layoff status March 30 when he was arrested on a Class C felony charge punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
A 15-year law enforcement veteran, Mehring has been with the Spokane Police Department for 12 years and has worked as an undercover narcotics detective since 2003.
Dead worker’s family sues
The family of a man killed on a Spokane Wastewater Treatment Plant digester is suing the plant’s engineers, claiming they were responsible for the death of their husband and father.
The suit, filed Thursday, claims CH2M Hill Inc. and Casne Engineering Inc., as well as CH2M employee Kelly Irving, had “combined negligence” contributing to Mike P. Cmos’ 2004 death.
Cmos was an employee at the treatment plant in 2004 and was trying to stop a leak in digester No. 3’s roof when the tank exploded and killed the longtime plant worker.
Authorities later discovered the digester had been filled too full of sludge, causing the roof to separate violently from the tank walls.
The suit alleges that Mike Cmos “suffered excruciating anguish” in his death, and that his family members – wife Kathy Cmos and daughter Jennifer – have each “sustained mental anguish and suffering.”
The amount of damages sought were not specified in the complaint.
From staff reports