In brief: Charges dropped against sergeant

Resisting arrest and obstruction of justice charges have been dropped against a veteran Spokane County sheriff’s sergeant, prosecutors said Tuesday.

Sgt. Pete Bunch was arrested Feb. 6 after a woman reported him prowling in her yard in the 3200 block of Marie Court. Police said he refused to comply with police commands and was taken into custody.

The misdemeanor charges were dismissed, said Spokane City Prosecutor Jim Bledsoe. If new evidence is presented, that could change. “It was not a knee-jerk decision,” Bledsoe said. “It was a matter of prosecutorial discretion.”

Bunch has been with the Sheriff’s Office for more than 30 years. During most of the investigation, he’s been working a desk job rather than on his regular patrol duty.

An internal affairs investigation into the sergeant’s actions is under way, officials said.

Jody Lawrence-Turner

Police say boy, 11, lied about robbery

An 11-year-old boy lied about being robbed on his way to school last week, Spokane police said Tuesday.

The Sheridan Elementary School student told police a man in his late teens tried to stab him as he took out his wallet near a convenience store at Second Avenue and Thor Street about 8:45 a.m. March 5. The boy claimed the teen punched him in the head, scratched him on the hand with a knife and took his wallet and keys.

Police detectives announced Tuesday that the boy made up the story, according to a news release, but spokeswoman Jennifer DeRuwe said no other details were available.

Meghann M. Cuniff

Child-porn trafficker sentenced to 17 years

A former Spokane man, Ruble Keys, was sentenced Tuesday to 17 years in federal prison for his role in what authorities described as a global child pornography trafficking enterprise.

The Internet-based operation, using sophisticated encryption and pseudonyms at large, file-sharing newsgroup sites, involved the distribution of more than 400,000 images and 1,000 videos of prepubescent children, including toddlers, engaged in various sexual and sadistic acts, authorities said.

Keys, 56, pleaded guilty last May to four counts – engaging in a child exploitation enterprise, conspiracy, advertising child pornography and receiving child porn.

Under terms of a plea bargain, he agreed to testify against seven other defendants who took their cases to trial in Pensacola, Fla., and were convicted in January. One of those convicted defendants was Warren King Mumpower, of Spokane. He is scheduled to be sentenced April 14.

Even after providing “substantial assistance” as a prosecution witness, Keys was sentenced to 204 months in prison by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Lacey A. Collier.

Bill Morlin