In brief: Inquest set for fatal police shooting

SEATTLE – A King County judge has set Jan. 10 for the start of an inquest into a Seattle police officer’s fatal shooting of a Native American woodcarver.

An inquest jury will decide whether Officer Ian Birk had a sufficient reason to use deadly force when he shot John T. Williams on Aug. 30 on a Seattle sidewalk.

Birk has said he fired because Williams didn’t respond to three commands to drop a knife he was carrying.

The Seattle Times said some witnesses have told police that the 50-year-old Williams did not act in a threatening manner.

The Police Department’s Firearms Review Board and Chief John Diaz will make a final decision on the shooting after the inquest.

The King County prosecutor also will review the shooting after the inquest.

Dog trainer’s murderer sentenced

MOUNT VERNON, Wash. – A man convicted of murdering a well-known Washington dog trainer has been sentenced to 26 1/2 years in prison.

Michiel Oakes claimed he killed dog trainer Mark Stover – his girlfriend’s ex-husband – in self-defense last year after Stover threatened him. A jury didn’t buy it and convicted Oakes of first-degree murder.

A judge on Tuesday denied Oakes’ request for a new trial and sentenced him to 26 1/2 years, the high end of his sentencing range.

Stover’s celebrity clients included members of Pearl Jam and Nirvana, the moviemaker Cameron Crowe and Starbucks chairman Howard Schultz.

His body has not been found.

Inmate dies in jump from 11th floor

SEATTLE – The King County jail commander says a 29-year-old work release inmate broke a window on the 11th floor of the county courthouse in Seattle and jumped to his death.

The suburban Auburn man was not immediately identified. Cmdr. William Hayes said the county medical examiner’s office plans an autopsy.

Hayes said the man was in the work release office Tuesday when he used a chair to break a window and then jumped.

Hayes told the Seattle Times the man was in work release for violating terms of his probation.

Barista won’t be charged in shooting

EUGENE, Ore. – The Lane County district attorney’s office says no criminal charges are planned against a barista who fatally shot a man during a coffee stand robbery in Eugene.

Described as a man in his 20s, the coffee shop employee has not been identified.

Police say the man who was killed and an accomplice tried to rob the Dutch Bros. Coffee drive-through on Nov. 24.