In brief: Detectives seeking credit card thief
Spokane County Sheriff’s Office detectives are hoping someone will recognize a man who tried to use a stolen credit card at a north Spokane ATM.
According to a sheriff’s news release, the card was stolen after 2 a.m. on Sept. 16 from a pickup parked in front of the Quality Inn at 7919 N. Division St. The thief also stole the victim’s cell phone and wallet.
A man then tried to use the stolen card at 8:35 a.m. at a Hico ATM at 10606 N. Newport Highway. The man’s photo was taken by the ATM’s surveillance camera, and now authorities are asking anyone who can identify him to call (509) 242-TIPS.
Conconully, Wash.
Angler accidentally shoots self in back
A fisherman accidentally shot himself in the back Tuesday as he was leaving a small lake near Conconully, Wash.
Sporting a .44-caliber Magnum on his hip, 44-year-old Randy C. Hugh was fishing alone at Fish Lake. When it came time to leave, he tossed the gun into his truck and it fired, Okanogan County Sheriff Frank Rogers said.
Hugh was hit in the back and the bullet shot out his chest, but he jumped in the truck to find help, Rogers said. About halfway to Conconully, Hugh came across a forest service worker, who called for an ambulance.
“He was actually talking to everybody, telling the story, and everything fits,” Rogers said. “Totally accidental.”
Hugh was taken to an Omak hospital then airlifted to Central Valley Hospital in Wenatchee. The Mineral, Wash., resident was in satisfactory condition Wednesday evening, a nursing supervisor said.
Spokane
Man investigated for sex with teen
A 29-year-old man who allegedly met a 14-year-old Central Valley High School student on a gaming Web site and started a relationship is now under investigation for third-degree child rape.
The girl told a resource officer at the Spokane Valley high school that she was dating and had sex with Shadrack L. Cain, of Spokane, after they met online, according to a probable cause statement for a search warrant.
Records state the girl told Cain she was 14, but when he was arrested Saturday, he told police he believed she was 18. He admitted to having sex with the girl, records show.
The girl alleged Cain bought her a cell phone so he could contact her without her parents’ knowledge, documents state.
Cain was in Spokane County Jail late Wednesday being held on $25,000 bail, according to jail records.
$1 million donated to fix Fox Theater
The Fox Theater organization has announced a $1 million anonymous grant that pushes the effort to finance renovation and operation of the historic theater to 92 percent of its goal of $31 million.
Fox Executive Director Brenda Nienhouse reported the new grant this week, along with a recent $350,000 challenge grant from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation.
The Fox needs other donors to match the Allen grant.
The money will help renovate the 1931 art deco theater and provide an endowment fund for maintenance and support of community-based performances.
Completion is expected in mid-November.
Funding has come from state contributions of $8 million and an additional $7 million in transferable federal tax credits.
Donations made by Oct. 8 will be recognized at opening festivities starting Nov. 17.
The 1,700-seat venue will be the home of the Spokane Symphony Orchestra and is expected to fill a need for a mid-sized stage house.
Priest Lake
Drawdown set to begin Oct. 15
The annual drawdown of Priest Lake begins Oct. 15, according to Avista Corp., which operates the Priest Lake Dam.
The water level at Priest Lake is expected to drop three feet to reach its winter level by early November.
Cowlitz County
Russell moved to Cowlitz jail
Former fugitive Fred Russell has been transferred to a jail in Cowlitz County, where he is expected to stand trial later this month for vehicular homicide.
Whitman County Jail officials have confirmed the move.
Earlier this week, a Whitman County judge declined to dismiss charges against Russell. His lawyers sought dismissal because a state lab accidentally threw away blood evidence showing Russell was drunk at the time of a 2001 accident that killed three Washington State University students and injured three others.
Russell’s trial on vehicular homicide and vehicular assault charges is to begin Oct. 15 in Kelso. He fled in 2001, was tracked down in Ireland in 2005 and extradited to the United States.
From staff and wire reports