In brief: Wanted California fugitive believed to be in this area

Police in Kootenai County are looking for a dangerous fugitive wanted in California.

Corey Andrew Dearing Sr., who has ties to a white supremacy group, is wanted on charges of conspiracy to commit murder, Coeur d’Alene police said. There is a $1 million bond for Dearing in California, according to a news release; a warrant for his arrest was issued by Riverside County, Calif.

Dearing, 52, is believed to be visiting family in Kootenai County. He reportedly was spotted Friday at residences on Woodside Avenue in Coeur d’Alene and Tessa Way in Hayden.

He may be traveling with a woman named Noreen and may be driving a smaller pickup that is light gray or blue. Authorities urge “extreme caution” if anyone comes in contact with Dearing, who also may be using the alias Cory Andrew Dovering.

Anyone with information on Dearing’s whereabouts is asked to call the Coeur d’Alene police at (208) 769-2320.

Staff reports

Replica hand grenade found in Air Force officer’s baggage

An Air Force captain was pulled off a Horizon flight at Spokane International Airport on Saturday after baggage screeners found a replica hand grenade in his checked suitcase.

Spokane Airport spokesman Todd Woodard said the checked baggage screening equipment detected a hand grenade in a bag at 4:37 a.m. Officials from the Transportation Security Administration opened the bag and determined the grenade was not real. Still, Woodard said, the bag’s owner was removed from his flight for additional questioning by airport police and officials from the Air Force’s Office of Special Investigations.

Woodard did not know the passenger’s destination or whether the man was stationed at Fairchild Air Force Base.

“He was not charged and was allowed to continue with his travel plans” and was booked onto a later flight, Woodard said. He was allowed to keep the grenade, but airport police and the OSI continue to investigate the incident.

Woodard said airport officials were glad to see that the screening equipment and protocols worked as intended.

Carolyn Lamberson