In brief: Felon with child porn given extra 20 years

A man who had evidence of a child pornography hoard when he reported to federal prison in 2006 was sentenced Tuesday to serve an additional 20 years.

Terry Dallas Griffith, 39, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Fred Van Sickle after pleading guilty in December to one count of production of child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography.

Griffith was sentenced to 57 months in prison after being convicted of possessing child pornography in August 2005. When he reported to prison in February 2006, U.S. Bureau of Prison officials discovered items in Griffith’s possession that led investigators to get a search warrant for a Spokane Valley storage facility.

There, they found a huge collection of child pornography. Additional charges were filed in March 2007.

Co-defendant James Dean Fedrick, 58, formerly of Medical Lake, was sentenced in January to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to production of child porn and possession of child pornography.

– Bill Morlin

WSP has computers of accused firefighter

The Washington State Patrol now has the work computers of a Spokane firefighter accused of purchasing child pornography.

Todd Chism’s computers were given to investigators Monday after the city received a letter from WSP requesting them. The computers have been locked up since Chism was arrested at his Nine Mile Falls home and investigators seized his two home computers on Jan. 29.

Chism was released the next day, when a judge ruled there was too little evidence to hold him in jail. He has not been charged with a crime.

The WSP began its investigation of Chism last summer. The agency hasn’t released any information about its overall investigation, but has acknowledged there was nothing illegal on his home computers.

Chism remains on paid leave from the Fire Department.

– Jody Lawrence-Turner

Five charged with beating, robbing man

Spokane police arrested five people Monday night after a 49-year-old man said he was beaten, dragged from his parked vehicle and robbed.

Officers responding just after 9 p.m. to the skate park at Fourth Avenue and McClellan Street located the five suspects, who were charged with first-degree robbery.

The man had minor injuries to his face, neck and body, Officer Brian Eckersley said in a press release.

The victim said one of the robbers pointed a replica handgun at his head during the beating. The man said they took his wallet and ran.

Cpl. Kevin Miller found the suspects a few blocks away with items from the victim’s wallet, Eckersley said.

Charged are: Joshua W. Kiefer, 19; Joseph R. Fisette, 27; Danmark D. Peterson, 21; Teresa L. Tucker, 18; and Aaron W. Fuqua, 23.

Chesaw, Wash.

National forest roads will close in summer

About 10 miles of roads in the easternmost portion of the Okanogan National Forest will be close this summer so they can be rebuilt for use by dump trucks needed for a proposed gold mine.

The trucks would haul ore from the Buckhorn mine for processing at the Kettle River mill in Republic. Roads in the Marias Creek area near Chesaw will close from April 10 to Sept. 30.

Kinross Gold Corp. hopes to begin hauling ore this fall, but first the company must overcome appeals by groups questioning the water rights and enforcement of environmental standards for the project.

Hearings before the state Environmental and Land Use Hearings Board are scheduled for late May.