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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

In brief: Three women report they were grabbed

Three women have reported being grabbed by a man on a bicycle near Upriver Drive, according to the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office.

Last week, a woman jogging on the Centennial Trail said a man passing by on a dark mountain bike grabbed her bottom as he rode past at about 7:30 a.m. He asked her if she “liked it,” and she ran, according to a news release. At about 5 p.m. the same day, the same woman was walking to Minnehaha Park and was grabbed by the bicyclist again; he looked surprised to encounter her a second time, she reported.

Following that report, Crime Check got a call from another woman who said a man on a bike also grabbed her bottom as she was walking in the area of Stone and Upriver Drive on July 26.

A third woman told a deputy that she was walking her dog on the Centennial Trail on July 25 when she had a similar experience with a man on a black mountain bike.

The man on the bike has been described as a white male in his 20s, tall and thin, the news release said.

The Sheriff’s Office encourages people using the Centennial Trail in that area to walk, bike or run in pairs, and to not wear headphones so they can hear when someone is approaching. Report suspicious activity or incidents to Crime Check, at 456-2233.

Staff report

Infant breathing without ventilator

A North Idaho infant who police say was handled roughly by his teenage father has been removed from a ventilator at Sacred Heart Medical Center and is breathing on his own, according to Coeur d’Alene Police spokeswoman Sgt. Christie Wood.

However, doctors believe Noah Blanchard’s condition is “still very serious, with likely long-term medical problems,” Wood said in a statement Monday. “He will be hospitalized for some time.”

The father, 19-year-old James Blanchard, has been charged with felony injury to a child. Noah Blanchard, who was 20 days old at the time, was taken to Kootenai Medical Center on July 24 after he had trouble breathing. Acquaintances of the father told police they had often seen him handle the baby roughly.

Staff report