Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

In brief: Aggressive panhandler shot outside McDonald’s

From Wire Reports

EVERETT – A 61-year-old man was jailed Saturday afternoon after he allegedly shot a man who aggressively begged for money outside a McDonald’s in downtown Everett, according to Everett police.

The alleged shooter lives in Marysville, Wash., and was a regular customer at the restaurant in the 2000 block of Everett Avenue. Police said he was asked for money on his way in just before 11:30 a.m., then went inside and ordered something to drink, and on his way out he was panhandled again.

The beggar, a 41-year-old man carrying Kentucky identification, followed the Marysville man out to his small pickup, police said. The older man grabbed a handgun and fired one shot into the beggar’s abdomen, police said.

The Marysville man stayed at the scene and then was interviewed by detectives at a police station. Officers “were not satisfied this was self-defense,” and booked him into jail for investigation of first-degree assault, said police Sgt. Robert Goetz.

The shooting victim was in surgery Saturday afternoon and was in serious condition, Goetz said.

SUN VALLEY, Idaho – A police dog in the central Idaho resort town of Sun Valley is back on duty after a few weeks off the job following what authorities describe as an unprovoked attack on a small black schnauzer.

Sun Valley police Chief Cameron Daggett said the 5-year-old dark-colored German shepherd named Dax will receive more training to prevent a reoccurrence of what Daggett says was an unfortunate situation.

Dax is a four-year veteran of the force trained to find evidence at a crime scene, illegal drugs and missing people.

On June 26, authorities say, Dax attacked a schnauzer named Max. The owner, a Sun Valley resident, said the city is paying the $600 veterinarian bill.

Suspect in hit-and-run case makes court appearance

Moscow, Idaho – The only suspect in a case that left a 23-year-old woman near death on the side of Albion Road made his first appearance in Whitman County Superior Court on Friday. Richard Pasma, 24, did not enter a plea Friday but was informed of his rights and what the hit-and-run charges he faces could mean if he is found guilty.

Pasma will likely enter a plea during his second hearing Friday. Whitman County Superior Court Judge David Frazier reminded Pasma that county Prosecutor Denis Tracy is seeking a longer sentence than the standard range would dictate.

Because Pasma has no criminal background, he would likely be sentenced to nine months in a state institution if found guilty. Because of injuries the woman, Kristen Grindley, sustained during the November incident, Tracy will attempt to get Pasma a longer sentence.

Grindley was treated for a broken shoulder, ankle and nose as well as a skull fracture after being found by a passer-by Nov. 11. Grindley cannot remember events that led up to the incident. The prosecutor’s summary of facts states Grindley cannot remember five years before the night she was found. At the time, Pasma was Grindley’s live-in boyfriend in Pullman.