Region in brief: Hammer assault under investigation
An argument over a woman was settled with a hammer early Friday in Spokane Valley, the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office reported.
Daniel M. Taylor, 20, was arrested near the crime scene, said Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Dave Reagan. Taylor was booked into Spokane County Jail on suspicion of second-degree assault after officers found a blood-spattered jacket under a nearby garden shed.
The 35-year-old victim was hit twice on the head with a hammer, Reagan said. He was treated and released.
The fight began about 3 a.m. at a 7-Eleven store, Reagan said. Witnesses told police Taylor pulled the hammer, and the older man collapsed after the second blow to the head. They say Taylor then used the hammer to shatter out a window in the man’s truck, telling him, “Don’t mess with me.”
The assault remains under investigation, Reagan said.
Reward offered in handgun burglary
Authorities want help finding the burglar who stole more than a dozen handguns Tuesday from a Spokane Valley sporting goods store.
Crime Stoppers is offering cash for information about the burglary at The Sportsman’s Warehouse, 14014 E. Indiana, said Sgt. Dave Reagan of the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office. Authorities believe the thief waited inside the store until it closed, then grabbed the guns and ran out a back door on the west side.
The loot included .40-caliber, 9 mm and .45-caliber pistols, Reagan said.
Detectives think the same man attempted to burglarize the store in November, Reagan said.
Anyone with information is asked to call (800) 222-8477. Tipsters don’t have to leave a name to collect the reward but should provide a code name or number.
Memorial to be held for Wortham
Daniel A. Wortham will be remembered Sunday in a 2 p.m. service at the Veterans of Foreign Wars No. 1435 building, 212 S. David Road in Spokane Valley.
Wortham was killed March 21 in what police believe was a premeditated attack by his 16-year-old daughter, Jacqueline Wortham, and her 18-year-old boyfriend, Edmund D. Washington, in Wortham’s home at 1029 W. Ninth Ave.
Neighbors say the 39-year-old man worked long hours at his job at Mr. Rooter plumbing and worried constantly about his only daughter, who police say was a chronic runaway.
Jacqueline Wortham and Washington have been charged with first-degree murder and will be tried as adults. They remained in Spokane County Jail on Friday on $1 million bail.
BOISE
Closed primary bill advances
Idaho state lawmakers will consider a second proposal to change how primary elections work in Idaho.
The Senate State Affairs Committee voted 4 to 2 on Friday to advance a bill that would record what ballot a voter chooses and make it public, if a political party demands it.
The full Senate is considering a separate proposal to confine registered Democrats and Republicans to their own party primaries but still give unaffiliated voters their choice.
Both measures follow a federal lawsuit last year by conservative Republicans who want to close Idaho’s primaries, arguing that crossover voters were skewing results toward more moderate candidates.
Rod Beck, who led that failed legal challenge, says the Republican Party would likely sue if either bill passes.