Region in brief: Suspect arrested after three months

A burglary suspect accused of stabbing a homeowner was arrested this weekend after nearly three months on the lam.

Ronald D. Piercy II, 46, is in Spokane County Jail on $75,000 bail after appearing in court Monday on charges of first-degree burglary and second-degree assault.

Crime Stoppers had been offering a reward for tips leading to his capture since Dec. 30, one day after a man living in the 200 block of East Empire Avenue returned home with his wife and 14-year-old daughter to find Piercy standing in his garage, according to court documents.

Piercy is accused of stabbing the man in the left forearm “with an unknown object” before fleeing, police said. Piercy, who has convictions in Idaho and California, was booked into jail Friday evening.

His arraignment is set for April 6.

Men trapped when truck overturns

Two men were trapped for several hours after their pickup overturned Monday morning off Stevens Creek Road near the Palouse Highway.

Alcohol and excessive speed may have led Colter A. McKinnon, 20, to crash his 1990 GMC Sierra pickup while southbound sometime after midnight, according to the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office.

Emergency crews learned of the crash at 7:07 a.m., and McKinnon and his 27-year-old passenger were extricated about 40 minutes later.

The pickup had tipped on its side and struck a tree before it rolled 50 to 60 feet down a hill, the Sheriff’s Office said. Deputies said the truck was “nearly impossible” to see from the roadway.

Investigators found beer cans at the scene but charges are unlikely “because so much time had elapsed since the crash,” according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Minor earthquake felt near Cle Elum

CLE ELUM, Wash. – A minor earthquake with a magnitude of 3.8 was reported Monday afternoon about 13 miles south of Cle Elum in Central Washington. The Pacific Northwest Seismic Network at the University of Washington said the quake occurred at 2:27 p.m. at a depth of 3 miles.

The Yakima Herald-Republic said the quake was felt as far away as the Chinook Pass area, where the owner of Whistlin’ Jack Lodge called from home to ask his employees whether anybody else felt it.

There were no reports of damage.

Gregoire signs education bills

AUBURN, Wash. – Gov. Chris Gregoire returned to her hometown high school Monday to sign into law a package of education bills, including a plan that could help the state compete for a slice of the Obama administration’s $4.35 billion Race to the Top program.

Other measures significantly increase the state’s spending on public education, allow local officials to ask voters for more property tax money, and set up a new early learning program for preschool children.

After the bill-signing ceremony at Auburn High School, Gregoire praised the state for not giving up on improving public education – even though a severe fiscal downturn has crimped spending on many government programs.

The education bills were among the last measures approved by the Democrat-led House and Senate at the end of the Legislature’s 60-day regular session.