In brief: Duncan sentenced to two more life terms
Convicted serial killer Joseph Duncan received two more life sentences Tuesday for the 1997 murder of Anthony Martinez in California. Duncan, 48, made what could be his last appearance in Riverside, Calif., County Superior Court during a sentencing hearing Tuesday in Indio, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reported.
Duncan pleaded guilty last month to the abduction and killing of the 10-year-old 14 years ago.
A federal judge has already ordered Duncan to three death sentences on top of nine life terms for the murder of four members of a family and kidnapping of two children in Kootenai County.
In Idaho, Duncan was tried and, in 2008, convicted for the murders of Brenda Groene, her fiancé, Mark McKenzie, and her oldest son, Slade Groene. All three were bludgeoned with a hammer in their Wolf Lodge Bay home. Duncan abducted Groene’s two youngest children, Dylan, 9, and Shasta, 8, and molested them before killing Dylan.
Duncan will remain in an isolation cell in Indio until he can be transferred to Terre Haute, Ind., where federal death row inmates are housed. The U.S. Bureau of Prisons said that could take days or weeks.
Motorist on railroad avoids harm in crash
A Montana man escaped injury after an Amtrak train hit his pickup as he drove on the tracks to avoid a flooded road near Sagle, Idaho, the Idaho State Police said.
Lynn Schedlbauer, 40, was cited for trespassing after accessing a private railroad crossing and attempting to use a side access road that was flooded with 3 1/2 feet of water.
Schedlbauer drove north on the tracks from the crossing, but an Amtrak train also was northbound and “overtook” the pickup at milepost 467.5, throwing it from the tracks onto the flooded road about 4:13 a.m., according to ISP.
Schedlbauer was wearing a seat belt.
Stewart selected for court commissioner
A Superior Court commissioner pro tem has been selected to serve as the new Spokane Municipal Court commissioner.
Spokane attorney Kevin Stewart will start Monday. He was selected from a pool of 16 candidates.
Stewart has been serving in the Superior Court role since June 2009 and had served as a pro tem for municipal and Spokane County district courts.
He brings nearly 16 years of legal experience as a criminal defense and family law attorney, according to a city news release.
Governor signs bill ending polling sites
Washington will lose its last polling places this year when the state switches completely to vote-by-mail.
A bill signed Tuesday by Gov. Chris Gregoire requires all counties, including Pierce County – the only one still with polling sites – to conduct elections by mail. Supporters said all-mail voting is cheaper and improves turnout; opponents argued that Pierce County should be allowed to choose how it wants to run elections. State officials said the majority of that county’s voters already cast their ballots by mail.
The law takes effect this summer before the municipal primaries in August.