Man killed had lived in Spokane
A man shot to death in a confrontation with Bellevue police was violent and would have eventually killed his wife, the woman said Wednesday.
Police said John Pebles, 62, was shot and killed Tuesday night after he attacked an officer with a knife. The officer, a six-year veteran, was not injured.
His wife, Mary Kay Pebles, told television reporters that she had locked Pebles out of their apartment Tuesday and that he tried to break a window with a planter.
Mary Kay Pebles said she and her husband were separating after eight years of marriage because of his temper. She said he had retired after 44 years with Burlington Northern Santa Fe and that they had moved eight years ago from Spokane.
PETA seeks end to fireworks shows
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is asking Spokane Mayor Mary Verner to end all fireworks displays in the city.
Citing the case of JJ, a Spokane police dog who became so frightened by recent fireworks that he broke out of his kennel, PETA suggests that laser light shows would be more humane.
In a letter to Verner and the City Council, PETA Director Sarah King wrote: “Because animals’ hearing is far more sensitive than ours, fireworks cause them pain, fear, and even hearing damage. Some animals die outright from the fright; birds and other wildlife often abandon their nests and dens.”
Most fireworks already are illegal in Spokane and Spokane County. The only legal fireworks displays are large-scale, professional events such as the show at Riverfront Park.
Post Falls couple win house raffle
A Post Falls couple won a $300,000 home built in their town by North Idaho College students during the annual NIC Foundation’s Really Big Raffle.
Rob and Jan Garrett were the holders of ticket No. 3001, which brought them the grand prize, according to Rayelle Anderson, the foundation’s executive director. The couple were not among the thousands of ticket holders who gathered at the college Wednesday for the drawing.
In addition to the house, a car, a boat, a travel package and a $2,000 shopping spree were also given away.
“Despite the poor economy that is affecting fund-raisers nationwide, the last of the Really BIG Raffle’s 5,000 tickets was sold July 3, selling out for the 16th consecutive year,” said Anderson in a press release.
The foundation has raised more than $2.5 million in the last 16 years through the fundraiser.
Oklahoma couple face hearing today
HELENA – An extradition hearing will be held today in District Court in Havre for an Oklahoma couple accused of burying a young girl, then digging up her remains and moving the body from state to state for more than a year.
Hill County Attorney Gina Dahl said the defendants, 35-year-old Abel Wolf and 40-year-old Denise Wolf, are being held without bail in the Hill County jail in Havre. They are charged in Oklahoma with unlawful removal of a body believed to be that of Abel Wolf’s 11-year-old daughter, Cheyenne.
An autopsy is to be done in Portland to identify the remains and establish the cause of death. Investigators found the remains in a storage building in Milton-Freewater, Ore.
Girl kept confined in pit bull case
SEATTLE – A Burien teen accused of using a pit bull dog as a weapon was ordered held after a prosecutor called her a threat to the community.
The 16-year-old pleaded not guilty Wednesday in King County Juvenile Court to charges of assault and being a minor in possession of liquor.
The Seattle Times reported Judge Charles Johnson ordered the girl to remain in the Youth Service Center until trial not only because of the dog attack but also because she had recently been arrested for investigation of theft.
She’s accused of using the dog to maul two women on June 21 in SeaTac.
Lightning hits tree, blows out car tires
TWISP, Wash. – A Gig Harbor couple escaped injury when lightning struck a tree and traveled through the car they were sitting in to wait out the storm.
The middle-aged couple, whose names have not been released, reportedly pulled over under a tree in the north-central town of Twisp on Monday to wait out a lightning storm and heavy rains. Lightning apparently struck the tree, traveling through the car.
Mike Port, owner of Port’s Towing, told the Wenatchee World that his business towed the vehicle to Omak after the couple discovered two of their tires were blown and their car wouldn’t start.