NW today: 2 dead in fleeing car on I-5
What’s news in the Northwest today:
TUMWATER, Wash. — Washington State Patrol troopers have found two people dead in a car that fled from a trooper in a high speed chase that ended on Interstate 5 at Tumwater. Trooper Guy Gill says the 38-year-old driver shot himself in the head. Then troopers found a 38-year-old woman passenger dead. He says she was emaciated and appeared to have been sick for some time. Gill says he does not know how long the woman had been dead, but it does not appear she was killed during this morning’s incident. She was not shot. The 10-mile chase began just before 6 a.m. when a car going about 85 mph passed a marked patrol car. Spike strips caused the fleeing car to spin out. Gill says the trooper saw the driver raise a hand to his head. Then the trooper heard a shot and saw the driver slump over. Gill says no officer fired a gun.
Redmond camping candle a big-seller in Japan
SEATTLE — A candle lantern made in Redmond has been popular with campers for years. Now the Redmond company, Industrial Revolution, says its UCO Candle Lantern is in high demand in Japan where some blackouts have followed the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. The Seattle Times reports the company’s 15 employees have produced nearly 18,000 candle lanterns in recent weeks, bound for Japan. Another 3,000 ship out Thursday. Times columnist Ron Judd writes the lanterns, which use a special candle, can also provide warmth to a confined space.
Western coal leasing by feds challenged in court
BILLINGS, Mont. — Environmental groups are challenging the Obama administration’s plan to lease vast coal reserves in the nation’s largest coal producing region. The lawsuit announced today challenges coal leasing in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming and Montana. The region produces almost half the nation’s coal. It has seen a sharp increase in mining in recent decades as production in Eastern states tapers. The suit challenges a 1990 decision to “decertify” the Powder River Basin as a coal producing region. Plaintiffs say the decision allowed the government to avoid environmental reviews — including the climate change impacts of burning of billions tons of coal now up for leasing. The Sierra Club, Defenders of Wildlife and WildEarth Guardians filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.
Pipe bomb suspected in Moses Lake mailbox blast
MOSES LAKE – A suspected pipe bomb blew up a residential mailbox in Moses Lake on Sunday, officials said. No one was hurt and investigators don’t yet know if the mailbox owner was targeted, said Grant County Sheriff Tom Jones. “I’m grateful nobody was hurt by the detonation of this device,” he said. “Since we don’t know if this was a random event or if someone was indeed targeted, citizens should be cautious when opening their mailboxes.” The explosive device destroyed a mailbox on the 7400 block of Road K.7-NE, about two miles east of Moses Lake. Deputies were called at 1 p.m. Sunday when the resident reported her mailbox had been destroyed, possibly overnight Saturday, Jones said. Bomb squad technicians from Richland Police Department’s Bomb Squad were called and checked other mailboxes in the area. No other devices were found and no other similar incidents have been reported, Jones said. Jones said investigators are leaning toward the incident being a random act, but emphasized residents should remain cautious.
More than 800 horses sold for $380,000
BILLINGS, Mont. — All 804 horses seized from bankrupt rancher Jim Leachman sold during a weekend auction east of Billings, bringing in just over $380,000. The animals were rounded up because they were trespassing on Crow land. Leachman has pleaded not guilty to seven misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty for failing to care for the horses. The money from the sale will pay for the roundup, feeding and sale of the animals. Crow Agency BIA Superintendent Vianna Stewart tells The Billings Gazette that she doesn’t know if there will be money left over beyond paying for expenses. The sale took place Saturday and Sunday. Stewart says people will likely be sorting and loading horses until Thursday or Friday. Half of the horses were headed out of state or to Canada.
Olympia agrees to pay woman Tasered at city jail
OLYMPIA – The city of Olympia has reached a $260,000 settlement with Cynthia Brown, who was illegally strip-searched and shot with a Taser in the city jail in 2008. “I think it’s vindication to some degree,” said Edwin Budge, Brown’s Seattle-based attorney. “It was supposed to send a message to the city…” Despite settling the matter, the city denied liability. Donald Law, the city’s outside counsel for the case, gave a brief statement. “Our primary goal throughout this process has been to reach a fair settlement with Cynthia Brown,” he said. “That has now been accomplished. We are pleased and ready to move on.” Brown sued the city in September, as well as three male corrections officers – James Roberson Sr., James Roberson Jr. and Michael Renard, a cadet. Brown’s suit claimed her civil rights were violated and that the strip search was illegal. According to public documents, Brown was arrested and taken to the city jail on Aug. 19, 2008 on a misdemeanor trespassing charge, which was later dismissed. While Brown was in jail with the two other male corrections officers, Roberson Sr. ordered her to strip to her underwear.
Lead pellets killed 5 trumpeter swans near Sequim
PORT ANGELES, Wash. — Five trumpeter swans found dead in January in the Dungeness Valley near Sequim were all poisoned by lead shotgun pellets they ingested. A veterinarian with the state Fish and Wildlife Department, Kristin Mansfield, told the Peninsula Daily News the birds’ livers contained lethal levels of lead. The swans pick up the pellets while feeding. They consume grit to help break up food in their gizzards. Lead shot has been outlawed for hunting since 1991, but remaining pellets have killed hundreds of the federally protected swans in recent years, mostly on wintering grounds in northwestern Washington and southwestern British Columbia.
Olympia college backs off plan for biomass project
OLYMPIA, Wash. — The Evergreen State College has backed off a plan to burn wood debris to heat the Olympia campus. College officials told the state last week it is no longer seeking a grant to help pay for the $14 million biomass project. The Olympian reports the college questions whether the project would significantly reduce its carbon footprint and whether there would be enough debris from forests certified as sustainable. Thurston County also imposed a one-year moratorium in December on biomass energy projects.
Suspect shot during Twin Falls traffic stop
TWIN FALLS, Idaho — A Twin Falls police officer shot and injured a man who rammed two police cars during a traffic stop. Police Chief Brian Pike says the suspect was hospitalized and none of the officers were injured. The shooting is still being investigated, but it appears a police officer attempted a traffic stop at about 1:15 a.m. today and the driver led officers on a short pursuit before turning onto a dead-end street. Police say the man then turned his vehicle around, drove at the officers and rammed two police cars. The suspect was shot as he drove toward the officers’ cars and was taken to the hospital. The extent of his injuries was not immediately known. The officer was placed on administrative leave, which is department policy.
6th grader denies felony for shooting
GREAT FALLS, Mont. — A Great Falls sixth grader charged in the shooting death of a 10-year-old boy has denied the felony charge against him during an answer hearing in Cascade County Juvenile Court. The Great Falls Tribune reports the 11-year-old boy answered not true to the charge of negligent homicide, which was filed against him in the March 5 shooting death of Shelby McCorkle. Prosecutors have said the boy shot McCorkle in the neck with a .22-caliber rifle after McCorkle told him to point the gun at him and shoot. Court records say the 11-year-old told police he forgot he loaded the gun about a week earlier and put it back in his father’s closet.