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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Region in brief: Suspect and victim arrested in stabbing

A stabbing in northwest Spokane early Tuesday led to the arrests of the victim and the suspect.

John D. Anderson, 39, was arrested on an outstanding warrant when officers responded to the 7000 block of North Tucannon Court just after midnight after receiving reports of a man banging on a patio door yelling for help.

Anderson was combative with officers, but they held him down as medics treated a stab wound to his left abdomen, police said.

Abel G. Rocha, 49, was arrested less than an hour later, accused of stabbing Anderson while the two were drinking in a turnout along Aubrey L. White Parkway in Riverside State Park.

Anderson was in surgery during his scheduled first appearance in Spokane County Superior Court.

His arraignment on one count of felony malicious harassment is scheduled for Aug. 25. Police say he left two sexually explicit voice mails for a Spokane County employee in June.

Meghann M. Cuniff

Bounty hunter freed on own recognizance

A bounty hunter accused of forcing an elderly Spokane man to give a bondsman thousands of dollars was released from Spokane County Jail on his own recognizance Tuesday.

Brian D. Steenhard, 38, is charged with first-degree theft and obtaining a signature by duress or deception after a 70-year-old man told police Steenhard and Ryan M. Holmes, 46, of Holmes Brothers Bails Bonds, forced him to withdraw $6,000 to pay a bond debt.

Police say the court had already reimbursed Holmes for that bond.

Holmes, who faces additional charges, posted a $20,000 bond last Thursday.

Deputy Prosecutor Patrick Johnson asked for Steenhard’s bail to be set at $20,000 at his first court appearance Tuesday, but Superior Court Judge Ellen Kalama Clark ordered Steenhard released, noting that he had turned himself in Monday.

Meghann M. Cuniff

Shot by officials, ram didn’t have feared bug

LEWISTON – A bighorn ram shot by game officials in June was sick with lung disease but wasn’t carrying bacteria known to have caused large-scale die-offs in wild herds, according to autopsy results.

Department of Fish and Game officials who shot the animal on June 11 had feared the ram might have transmitted the deadly lung disease that’s caused Idaho bighorn numbers to dwindle to about 3,500 animals, about half of the 1990 level.

The Salmon River Canyon herd that included the 7-year-old ram is considered important because it wasn’t wiped out in the 1940s. Bighorn sheep were reintroduced starting in 1971.

“He had some lung problems, but they were not huge like we would see in typical all-age die-offs or nasty pneumonia,” Mark Drew, a wildlife veterinarian for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, told the Lewiston Tribune.

Die-offs like one in Hell’s Canyon in 1995 and 1996 killed as many as 300 sheep.

This bighorn ram was shot after being seen in late May reportedly showing signs of pneumonia while mingling with domestic sheep that have been blamed for spreading disease to their wild cousins.

Associated Press

Work on parking lot to close park, launch

Parking lot and entryway improvements will force the closure of the Hauser Lake Park and public boat launch later this month.

Kootenai County Parks and Waterways will close the park from Aug. 24 to Aug. 27 to apply an asphalt overlay to the parking area and driveway. The parking lot also will be restriped.

Staff reports