Delivery worker defies gunman

A masked gunman was foiled Sunday night when a man delivering pizza refused to be robbed.

Spokane Valley police said the bandit was waiting outside a home in the 1000 block of North Locust Road, where a caller had asked for a pizza to be delivered.

The delivery worker told officers a man in dark clothing and a black ski mask approached him with a black semiautomatic pistol and demanded all his money.

Police said the victim refused even though the gunman threatened to shoot him.

The victim ran to his vehicle and drove away. He reported the incident to his Pizza Pipeline manager at 9407 E. Trent Ave. and continued on his route, police said.

Sgt. Dave Reagan said residents of the home where the incident occurred knew only that something happened in their front yard. He said the phone number given by the woman who ordered the pizza also led to people with no apparent connection to the crime.

Reagan asked anyone with information to call (509) 242-TIPS.

Okanogan County

Brewster declared safe after fire

Residents and patients were returned to a hospital and nursing home in Brewster, Wash., after the area near a packing plant was declared safe early Monday following a fire.

The blaze was reported about 6 p.m. Sunday, officials said, and an ammonia leak at the plant prompted evacuation of 10 assisted living residents and three patients from Brewster hospital and 54 patients from Harmony House, a health care facility, according to Okanogan County Sheriff Frank Rogers.

The Apple Shed facility’s refrigeration system uses anhydrous ammonia as part of the cooling system, some of which was leaking in the area of the fire.

Several main buildings of the plant located west of Highway 97 were on fire.

A shelter was set up to house the patients until they were able to return around 1:40 a.m.

Residents who had been evacuated from nearby homes also were let back into their homes.

There were no reported injuries, Rogers said. The cause is under investigation.

Teenager drowns in Alta Lake

A 16-year-old Okanogan County boy drowned Sunday in Alta Lake, officials said.

The investigation shows that Jesus Talavera, 16, of Pateros, was at the lake with his family and had been playing in the water near shore, said Okanogan County Sheriff Frank Rogers.

Talavera, who cannot swim, apparently got into water over his head. It was about 7 feet deep, Rogers said.

“Family members heard Talavera yelling for help and then he went under the water. Family members jumped into the water to find him, which they did after about four to five minutes.”

Family members and bystanders attempted to revive the boy using CPR, Rogers said.

Deputies responded to Alta Lake about 6 p.m. Sunday, Rogers said. “While en route to the scene, they were advised that the victim was being transported to the Okanogan/Douglas County Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.”