In brief: U.S. commemorates flag’s adoption
Today is Flag Day, and the U.S. government suggests flying the American flag from homes and businesses in observance.
Flag Day commemorates the June 14, 1777, adoption by the Second Constitutional Congress of a national flag of 13 stripes and 13 stars.
The Disabled American Veterans group says the flag should be illuminated after sundown, fly at the center and highest point of a group of flags from states, cities or groups, and not touch the ground when lowered. For more guidance, visit www.dav.org.
Dogs linked to livestock deaths killed
Three dogs identified in killings of domestic livestock in southern Stevens County have been killed, the sheriff reported Monday.
The attacks date back to March, according to Undersheriff LaVonne Webb.
A turkey hunter killed one dog on May 28 when he was charged by a pack of dogs. Two other dogs were killed over the weekend by a landowner who had lost domestic animals in the dog attacks.
The sheriff in a news release said the main pack has been eliminated. The killed dogs matched photos taken of them earlier.
Girl, men arrested in Facebook heist
A Post Falls man who was to bring $75 to a meeting in a park with a girl he met on Facebook was instead robbed at gunpoint by two men, police say.
The victim said he’d arranged to meet the 17-year-old girl Saturday night at Corbin Park. The reason for the meeting has not been released.
When he got in her Chevy Tahoe, two men later identified as David M. Martinez, 21, and Brendan T. Dalla, 20, pointed handguns at him and demanded his money, according to court documents. One threatened “to shoot him between his shoulder blades” if he looked at anyone in the vehicle. The victim gave the men his wallet and iPhone before being kicked out of the car and calling police.
Spokane police officers stopped the suspects at North Monroe Street and West Boone Avenue and located two handguns in the car, as well as an iPhone.
Martinez and Dalla were booked into Spokane County Jail for first-degree robbery; the girl was booked into juvenile detention.
Backpacker arrests net Ecstasy haul
Two Canadian men were arrested near the U.S. border with 159 pounds of the club drug Ecstasy.
Christopher S. Stocken, 31, and Joshua J. Bird, 23, appeared in U.S. District Court in Spokane on Monday on charges of possession with intent to distribute Ecstasy and importation of Ecstasy. They were booked into the Spokane County Jail on Saturday. U.S. Border Patrol agents allegedly found the men with five backpacks after they crossed into the country illegally from Canada. Stocken and Bird allegedly tried to hide near a trail just south of the border. Investigators estimate the Ecstasy tablets to be worth $4.5 million.
Last October, border agents found 310 pounds of Ecstasy worth more than $9.3 million near Curlew, Wash. No arrests have been made in that case.
Man arrested on cat cruelty charge
A 21-year-old Spokane man is accused of killing his girlfriend’s cat.
Corey C. Fries was arrested Saturday after his girlfriend of 1 1/2 years told police he’d held the cat to the floor about two weeks ago and hit it in the head with a cane, killing it.
Fries told the woman “that she needed to tell people that her cat ran away,” according to court documents.
Spokane police learned of the cat’s death after responding to the couple’s home at 3024 E. 30th Ave. on Saturday for a domestic dispute.
Fries faces a first-degree animal cruelty charge and misdemeanor assault. His bail was set at $5,000 Monday in Spokane County Superior Court.
Man injured in motorcycle crash
A 36-year-old man was flown to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center after losing control of a homemade motorcycle east of Republic late Sunday, state troopers said.
Dustin D. Burton, 36, of Spokane, was headed east on state Highway 20 when he lost control of his 1995 motorcycle 13 miles east of Republic just before 11 p.m. He landed in the eastbound lane.
He was flown to Spokane by Medstar. At the request of the patient, the medical center was not giving a condition report on Monday.
The Washington State Patrol said the cause of the accident was under investigation but that drugs or alcohol were likely involved.
Interstate 90 crash kills passenger
A Montana man died Monday when a car he was riding in crashed on Interstate 90 in Wallace.
Woodrow Driver, 71, of Anaconda, died in the accident, which occurred around 10 a.m., the Idaho State Police reported.
Sheryl Driver, 64, was driving the 2000 Cadillac DeVille and lost control on a curve, the ISP said. The car smashed into a concrete barrier and flipped over.
Sheryl Driver was taken to Shoshone Medical Center, where officials said she was treated, then transferred in stable condition to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center.
The ISP is investigating whether seat belts were used and whether alcohol or drugs were a factor, a news release said.