In brief: Credit union hit in midday robbery

A credit union branch was robbed Thursday in north Spokane.

A man handed a teller at Numerica Credit Union, 1916 W. Francis Ave., a note about 11:44 a.m. claiming he had a weapon and demanding money.

The robber never displayed a weapon and left the branch on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash, police said.

The robber is described as 5-foot-7 with a thin build and wearing a brown baseball hat with sunglasses on the hat. He wore a light gray, hooded sweatshirt with the word “revolt” printed in big letters with black design around it, witnesses told police.

A police dog tried tracking the man but couldn’t keep a scent in the heavy traffic, police said.

The robber was last seen running southbound from the parking lot. Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or Crime Check at (509) 456-2233.

Meghann M. Cuniff

Simpson to succeed Judge Hosack

Idaho Gov. Butch Otter appointed Kootenai County Magistrate Benjamin Simpson to succeed 1st District Judge Charles Hosack, who is retiring at the end of the year.

Simpson, 60, is a Colorado native and U.S. Navy veteran who received his bachelor’s degree from California State University in Chico and his law degree from Gonzaga University School of Law.

Simpson was an associate and then a partner in a Wallace-based law firm for 15 years before becoming a magistrate judge in January 2000. He lives in Coeur d’Alene with his wife, Jonelle.

“Judge Simpson has big shoes to fill, but I’m confident that his experience, knowledge and talent will enable him to ably serve the people of Idaho’s First Judicial District,” Otter said Thursday in a news release.

Staff reports

Trial set Jan. 7 in wolf shooting

SANDPOINT – The trial of a North Idaho man who says he shot and killed a gray wolf outside his home in June because the animal was a threat to his neighborhood is set to start Jan. 7.

Russell Glen Frachisuer is charged with killing big game during a closed season.

The 50-year-old reported the kill to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game in June, about four months before Idaho’s first public gray wolf hunt in decades began.

He told state wildlife officials he killed the animal near his Squaw Valley home to protect his dogs, his neighbors and their children.

Frachisuer has pleaded not guilty.

Associated Press

Fund helps family whose home burned

A fund has been set up to assist a Kootenai County family of five burned out of their home Sunday morning.

Kootenai County Fire and Rescue and crews from several agencies responded to the fire on Sunnyside Road east of Coeur d’Alene about 5:25 a.m.

Jeremy and Timira Maciosek, along with their three children, ages 5, 10, and 13, and their pets escaped without injury, but almost all of the contents in the home were destroyed in the blaze, officials said.

The home was insured, but a fund has been set up to assist the family through the holidays. Donations can be made to the Maciosek Fire Fund at the Mountain West Bank branch in Coeur d’Alene or the Bank Cda branches in Coeur d’Alene or Hayden.

Sara Leaming