In brief: Suspect jailed after break-in
A suspected burglar is in jail after a Spokane woman heard her front door being kicked open and called police.
Demetrius N. Golden, 31, was apprehended by Spokane police officers early Sunday at a tavern along East Sprague Avenue, authorities said. He faces a residential burglary charge in connection with the forced intrusion at the home, located in the 100 block of South Madelia Street.
According to the Spokane Police Department, the woman called for help after she heard someone kick in her front door about 9:52 p.m. Saturday. When she saw the intruder in her home, she told him that she’d already called police, prompting him to flee, officers said.
A few hours later, as Officers Joe Dotson and David Daddato were patrolling in the 1800 block of East Sprague Avenue, they spotted a man matching the Madelia burglar’s description and detained him after he tried to hide in a nearby bar. The woman identified him as the intruder in her home, and Officer Greg Rogan located a witness who told police that Golden had claimed to have kicked in someone’s door earlier in the evening.
Woman killed in crash
A Coeur d’Alene woman was killed Sunday afternoon when a 2000 Chevy Blazer she was driving drifted off southbound U.S. Highway 95, went over an embankment and rolled.
Michelle Bonasera, 19, died at the scene, which is north of Moscow, according to the Idaho State Police.
Her passenger, 20-year-old Andree Maxwell, of Boise, was transported to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center, where she was listed in critical condition Sunday night.
Bonasera was wearing a seat belt. Maxwell was not and was ejected from the vehicle.
Relaxed helmet law floated
ALBANY, Ore. – An Albany lawmaker wants to allow Oregon motorcycle riders and passengers to ride without helmets if they’re 21 or older.
Twenty legislators have signed onto House Bill 3141, which would change the state motorcycle helmet law so that only persons under 21 are required to wear a helmet.
Republican Rep. Andy Olson, the bill’s sponsor, said the change would allow riders to hear better and see more. Olson expected the measure to go to the House transportation panel and come up for a hearing in a week or so.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says helmets reduce crash-related head injuries, the leading cause of death among riders wearing no helmets.
Guilty plea on sex charges
SANDPOINT – A 50-year-old North Idaho man has pleaded guilty to exposing himself to a 5-year-old girl and soliciting a sex act.
Gary Wade Baughn, of Sagle, pleaded guilty Thursday to a felony charge of sexual abuse of a minor by solicitation and is scheduled to be sentenced April 18. He faces up to 25 years in prison.
Authorities say Baughn approached the girl on Sept. 29 and exposed himself, and later went to the girl’s home with the intent of exposing himself again.
Captive condor lays egg
BOISE – Officials at The Peregrine Fund’s World Center for Birds of Prey in Boise say the California condor breeding season has started with the first egg discovered.
Biologists at the center in Boise say the 4-inch, 10-ounce egg was found Wednesday morning and was produced by a 13-year-old condor.
If the egg is fertile, it will be artificially incubated until it’s ready to hatch, and then returned to the parents or a set of foster parents to increase genetic diversity, biologists said.
Experts say the egg should hatch in April, and after a year the young condor will be released into the wild near the Grand Canyon.