In brief: Pepper spray ends standoff with man

Firearms were no match for the Spokane Police Department’s hottest weapon: pepper spray.

An armed, violent and resistant man came fleeing out of his home Saturday night after police filled the dwelling with pepper spray.

James Vandyke, 41, was arrested on a second-degree assault charge in a domestic violence incident that prompted the police response about 7:30 p.m.

When officers arrived at the home in the 5500 block of North Greenwood Boulevard, they found Vandyke forcibly holding his wife with a gun in his hand, Officer Teresa Fuller said in a press release.

Police said Vandyke refused to drop the weapon and went into the house, eventually allowing his wife and others at the residence to leave.

Police learned he had additional firearms and obtained a search warrant. When Vandyke refused to surrender several hours into the standoff, police applied the pepper spray, the release said.

Police issued a thank you to neighbors and others in the area for cooperating with officers.

Man cut on face in downtown attack

Spokane police were searching for two men Sunday night after a third man was badly cut in a fight in the downtown area.

The victim, in his late 30s or 40s, suffered cuts on the face in the incident in the 400 block of West Third Avenue about 6:30 p.m.

Two men fled the scene in a vehicle, then abandoned it at Pacific Avenue and Pine Street. A K-9 was brought to the vehicle in an effort to track the men.

Police described one of the assailants as a Hispanic man, 5-foot-7, wearing a teal-colored winter coat.

Northern pike seen as threat to trout

BOZEMAN – The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks has released an environmental assessment of its plan to remove predatory northern pike from parts of the Missouri River and its forks.

Wildlife officials say the nonnative pike that can reach 40 pounds pose a threat to the Missouri River’s trout populations.

The agency proposes spending $20,000 to remove the fish using nets, angler harvest, and installing barriers.

Goose thefts get police’s dander up

REXBURG, Idaho – Police in the eastern Idaho city of Rexburg plan a crackdown on prank goose thefts from the Rexburg Nature Park.

Police say someone captured two geese from the park and placed them inside an apartment on Tuesday, causing an unknown amount of damage.

Capt. Randy Lewis told the Standard Journal it’s the third time this year geese have been taken from the park.

In the two other incidents, the geese were found wandering outside student housing for Brigham Young University-Idaho.

Illegal immigrant releases not lucrative

SALEM – Oregon is scrapping a program for commuting the sentences of undocumented-immigrant inmates, saying it didn’t save as much money as anticipated.

Gov. John Kitzhaber, who took office in January, won’t renew the program when it expires in July, the Statesman Journal reported.

It was designed to save the state money by shaving as much as six months off the sentences of undocumented immigrants in state custody for nonviolent offenses. They could then be turned over to federal authorities for deportation.

But officials say the program did not live up to expectations due to legal complications and wasn’t worth the administrative effort. Corrections officials say the program saved $172,000 by shaving time off the sentences of 44 inmates last year, rather than the $2 million that was projected.