In brief: Police officer faces rape investigation

A Spokane police officer has been placed on paid administrative leave while he is investigated for a rape allegation.

The officer, a nine-year veteran of the department, has yet to be identified.

KXLY television reported that the alleged attack occurred at a social gathering where numerous off-duty Spokane police officers and Spokane County sheriff’s deputies were present.

Spokane police Officer Jennifer DeRuwe said the case was forwarded to the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office when investigators found the alleged assault “may involve police officers.”

When the Sheriff’s Office started investigating, it determined a suspect could have been either a sheriff’s deputy or a police officer, so the case was forwarded to the Washington State Patrol, DeRuwe said.

Both Spokane departments have a policy of turning over criminal investigations of their officers to another law enforcement agency to avoid the appearance of conflict of interest.

An initial WSP investigation led authorities to just one officer who works for the Spokane Police Department, DeRuwe said. No further information was available.

“No information is being released,” said Trooper Mark Baker, of the WSP. “We’re just starting to take over this.”

Man charged with murder in hit-and-run

A man who witnesses say purposefully ran over his former roommate Thursday night was quickly arrested and taken to jail on a first-degree premeditated murder charge.

Marc D. Deavenport, 51, was arraigned Friday and bail was set at $500,000, according to Spokane County Jail records.

About 7 p.m. Thursday, the Chattaroy resident reportedly got into an argument about rent payment with several people, including the victim, at a home in the 9800 block of North Andrew Street in Spokane. Witnesses said Deavenport tried to back his Chevrolet pickup into them numerous times before leaving the area, according to a Spokane County Sheriff’s Office news release.

Deavenport returned shortly and allegedly tried to run the witnesses over again. The pickup stalled and the victim moved in front of the truck, but Deavenport got it started and ran over the victim, the release states.

Spokane County sheriff’s Deputy Jeff Thurman tracked down and arrested Deavenport about 9:30 p.m. as he drove north on the Newport Highway, near Mt. Spokane-Park Drive, away from the incident, according to the release.

The victim, whose identity was unavailable Friday, died about 10 p.m. at a hospital.

Mediation fails in ambulance suit

Mediation efforts in a class-action lawsuit brought against American Medical Response have failed so far, Superior Court Judge Jerome Leveque was told Friday.

Attorney D. Roger Reed, representing as many as 30,000 Spokane city residents who may have been overcharged by AMR, and Paul Dayton, the Seattle attorney representing the ambulance company, told the judge their efforts during an Oct. 12 mediation session went nowhere.

“We’re still in touch through the mediator,” Reed said after Friday’s hearing.

The judge ordered both sides back to court Nov. 5 when he is expected to set a new trial date and draft a new scheduling order setting deadlines for various motions.

The judge also will have to rule on a dispute over who should remain in the lawsuit that was filed in December 2005. Three months later, AMR officials admitted they had over-billed some city of Spokane residents between 2003 and 2005 and pledged $320,689 in refunds.

Plaintiffs in the suit are attempting to identify all patients billed by AMR since 1998 when the company was first awarded an exclusive contract to provide ambulance service in the city. So far, the company has failed to provide specific patient billing information and a detailed breakdown of who received the voluntary refunds, Reed said.

County to fight growth ruling

Spokane County Commissioners Mark Richard and Todd Mielke voted Tuesday to file a Superior Court challenge of regional Growth Management Hearings Board rulings that, on the surface, appear contradictory.

The growth board ruled commissioners improperly expanded “urban growth areas” on Five Mile Prairie, creating an urban island in one case, without required studies and consultation. Then the board ruled the county improperly rescinded the expansions after developers obtained vested rights to build.

Commissioner Bonnie Mager abstained because she was director of the Neighborhood Alliance of Spokane County when it challenged the urban growth expansions.The three-member state growth board told commissioners they must submit a plan by Jan. 10 for dealing with the growth they’ve already allowed.

Coeur d’Alene

Trial postponed in traffic death

A trial has been postponed to February for two Coeur d’Alene men who face vehicular manslaughter charges after an October 2006 car race down Kathleen Avenue caused the death of a Hayden boy.

Judge Fred Gibler agreed to the continuation Friday because the Kootenai County deputy prosecutor handling the case had quit the office and it has been reassigned to a new county attorney.

Dominick Salois and Daniel Cutting are accused of reaching speeds of nearly 65 mph in a 35 mph zone when Salois’ car hit a vehicle driven by Glenda Norris, critically injuring her and killing her 14-year-old son, Isaac Norris.

If convicted, the men face 10 years in prison.