Liberty lake blotter

Thu., June 12, 2008

By Nina Culver nculver47@gmail.com

Liberty Lake police enlisted the help of Washington State Patrol investigators for a serious accident Saturday at Mission and Harvard Road. A Chrysler mini van driven by Allan R. Villars, 48, of Liberty Lake, was traveling north on Harvard Road. The van was struck on the passenger side by a GMB Sierra pickup truck that had exited from westbound I-90 at the Liberty Lake exit.

The driver of the truck, identified as Clayton M. Trimble, 25, of Billings, apparently ran the stop sign. Both the driver of the mini van and his passenger, 47-year-old Gloria Villars, were injured. As of press time, Gloria Villars was in critical condition at a local hospital.

Investigators will be estimating the speed of the truck and that will be a factor in deciding whether charges are filed, said police Chief Brian Asmus. “He obviously ignored the stop sign,” he said. “He cooperated with our investigation. There were no signs of impairment.”

That intersection has seen numerous accidents, with Saturday’s the second serious crash this year. In the past the city has spoken to the state about getting a stop light at the intersection, but traffic counts weren’t high enough to warrant a signal, said Doug Smith, director of community development. “We have to make sure they’re aware of our concerns, again,” he said.

Also last week, officers investigated the theft of several koi were stolen from a backyard pond on North Tanglewood Lane. The victim estimated the value of the stolen fish as $1,200, Asmus said. The homeowner had left buckets and a fish net next to the pond, which the thief apparently used to haul the fish away. There were dogs at the house that did not bark. “It could be someone familiar with the house,” Asmus said.

During the week of June 2 through 9, police made eight arrests, four for driving with a suspended license, two for driving under the influence, one for criminal trespass and one for possession of marijuana. Police issued seven citations for license and plates required, two for expired license in possession/displayed, six for failure to show liability insurance, two for failure to stop/yield at an intersection, 10 for speeding and two for second-degree negligent driving. Additional citations were issued for a defective muffler, failure to use a safety chain, failure to obey a traffic control device, failure to stop at a stop light, failure to stop at a stop sign and failure to wear a safety belt.

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