Officials say boy, 3, played with lighter, set home ablaze
A family of four is homeless after a 3-year-old boy set his bed on fire Monday, destroying their double-wide mobile home.
The mobile home on Wagon Tongue Lane, just west of Eloika Lake, was fully engulfed when Spokane County District 4 firefighters arrived about 10:20 a.m.
Firefighters were concerned about dry grass and trees around the building so they called in the Washington Department of Natural Resources for help, said District 4 spokesman Pat Humphries.
The fire started when the boy was playing with his mother’s lighter, Humphries said.
The boy, his sibling, mother and two family dogs escaped the mobile home without injury.
– Amy Cannata
Spokane
Expired tabs could result in tow under new rule
To cut down on abandoned vehicles littering the streets, Spokane police will begin ordering tow trucks to take away cars parked in public areas if their license tabs are more than 45 days expired.
A new ordinance approved by the Spokane City Council giving police the authority to tow unlicensed cars has taken effect. If police find a car in violation, it will be immediately impounded, a Spokane Police news release states.
The ordinance is in addition to a current 12-hour limit on parking on city streets, whether the car is licensed or not.
Officers put impound notifications on more than 5,000 vehicles last year, about 3,500 of which would have been towed under the new law, according to the release.
– Nick Eaton
Coeur d’Alene
Man arrested following stabbing of two others
Two men were stabbed multiple times and a third was arrested following a fight Sunday morning, according to Coeur d’Alene police.
Police responded to Kootenai Medical Center just before 3 a.m. Sunday as 23-year-old Nicholas Cleveland was being treated for two stab wounds to his chest. His girlfriend’s brother, 24-year-old Leo Decker, was also at KMC being treated for stab wounds to his back and shoulder.
Cleveland told police that he received a call about 2 a.m. from Decker, who said he had been in a fight at a home at 16th and Maple streets in Coeur d’Alene. Decker picked Cleveland up and the two returned to the house, Cleveland told police.
Cleveland said he knocked on the door, then was hit in the head, police Sgt. Christie Wood said. He told investigators he didn’t remember being stabbed.
Both victims had been drinking, Wood said, and Decker was too intoxicated to tell police what had happened.
Interviews with witnesses at the scene led to the arrest of 25-year-old Cameron Willard, who was booked into the Kootenai County Jail on felony charges of aggravated battery. Wood said there could be additional suspects charged.
Cleveland was reported in fair condition at KMC on Monday evening. Decker was treated and released.
– Taryn Hecker