Region in brief: Caregiver pleads guilty to fraud

A man who billed the state for time he spent sleeping while he was supposed to be caring for his elderly in-laws pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of first-degree theft and six counts of Medicaid fraud.

Paul Allen Jamison, 61, was asked to care for the parents of his late wife, Terri Jamison, in 2006. In 2007 the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the Washington state attorney general’s office found that Paul Jamison billed the state for 200 hours of in-home care he did not provide.

A complaint was first filed by Lincoln County Hospital and investigated by the state Department of Social and Health Services. The elderly woman in his care told authorities she rarely saw him and he would not stay for more than an hour at a time when he did come to her home, officials said. After her husband died in 2006, the woman said Jamison provided no care for her but continued to bill the state, officials said.

Sara Leaming

Agencies pitch in as police go to funeral

Other law enforcement agencies handled emergency calls Thursday morning in Spokane while police Department employees attended the funeral of an officer who died of leukemia this week.

Aaron S. Douglas, 38, was hired as a Spokane police officer in 1993 and worked full time on the bomb squad until July. He died Monday.

A 1989 graduate of North Central High School, Douglas was described as a man with a “warrior mentality” in his battle with cancer. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, riding his motorcycle and spending time with his wife, Spokane police Officer Traci Douglas, and friends.

Traffic units with the Sheriff’s Office and Spokane Valley Police Department handled calls during the 10 a.m. funeral, said Sgt. Dave Reagan.

Meghann M. Cuniff

Thief backs pickup into convenience store

A man backed a pickup through the doors of a West Plains convenience store Thursday morning and stole money and more than 100 packs of cigarettes.

Surveillance video shows a newer model, silver, four-door Dodge or Nissan truck backing through the front doors of the Conoco station at 40th and Foseen about 6 a.m., according to the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office. The truck had no visible license plates.

The driver, wearing a gray mask, gloves, a black sweatshirt and black pants, jumped over the counter and grabbed a cash drawer and an empty cash box, then a display drawer containing 107 packs of Camel cigarettes.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Check at (509) 456-2233.

Meghann M. Cuniff