In brief: Jury convicts man of accosting officer
A jury took 20 minutes of deliberations Wednesday to convict a woman, who wears a beard and lives as a man, of assaulting a Spokane Police officer in 2009.
Joseph Ali Bin Muhammad, 45, – formerly Paula K. Reynolds-Eblacas – represented himself in the trial after Superior Court Judge Kathleen O’Connor last month ruled that he was competent to stand trial despite objections from the prosecution.
Muhammad’s charge stemmed from an incident on July 25, 2009, in which he grabbed a police officer’s genitals as the officer attempted to detain him for a mental evaluation.
Muhammad – who prefers to be considered a man and was referred to as a man by the court – previously told The Spokesman-Review that he was born a woman and had a child. He said he wears a full beard as a symbol of his activism.
O’Connor scheduled his sentencing for April 24. He faces about 90 days in jail.
Man admits guilt in slashing incident
A man pleaded guilty Wednesday to slashing the neck of his ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend earlier this year. The man survived but required 13 stitches to close the wound.
Ezra L. Bedeski, 35, said he was off his medications when the boyfriend confronted him as Bedeski was yelling at the ex-girlfriend on Feb. 7 outside the Walgreens at Wellesley Avenue and Crestline Street in Spokane. Bedeski rushed the man and cut his neck before fleeing.
“I made a bad mistake,” Bedeski said. “I should have turned my back and walked away.”
Superior Court Judge Sam Cozza told Bedeski that he’s lucky that the victim did not die. As it was, prosecutors allowed Bedeski to plead guilty to the lesser crime of second-degree assault and Cozza sentenced him to nine months in jail.
Officials investigate death of inmate
State prison officials are investigating the death of an inmate over the weekend, but a criminal investigation has not been requested.
Dale Stahl, 57, died Saturday at Airway Heights Corrections Center, and his death has officially been listed as an “unexpected death,” prison spokeswoman Risa Klemme said.
Klemme said an autopsy is being performed, and there will be a critical incident review, either Friday or next week.
The Spokane County Medical Examiner’s office confirmed that an autopsy has been performed, but the cause and manner of death remain, pending toxicology reports that could take up to 10 weeks to complete.
Klemme did not immediately provide details of how long Stahl had been an inmate at the facility or his release date. Spokane County Court records did not list a conviction for Stahl.
Earthquake hits off Oregon coast
PORTLAND – A 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck about 160 miles off the Oregon coast on Wednesday, but there were no reports of damage.
The quake was reported at about 3:40 p.m. west-northwest of the coastal city of Bandon, Ore.
Doug Gibbons of the U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake is not related to two massive earthquakes in Indonesia on Wednesday.
Gibbons said the earthquake was about 8 miles below the Earth’s surface.
Two men lead car chase – in reverse
Two suspected gas thieves led a Spokane Valley deputy on an early morning chase Wednesday – in reverse.
Deputy Mark Benner responded to the 400 block of North Shamrock Road, where a caller said she saw two men siphoning fuel out of vehicles near her house, according to the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, which contracts with Spokane Valley for law enforcement.
When Benner shined his spotlight on two suspects, the men jumped into their truck and drove eastbound on Valleyway in reverse, police said.
Near the intersection of Valleyway and Flora Road, about a half mile from where the chase began, the driver of the truck attempted to back into a driveway and struck a concrete barrier, police said.
According to authorities, Benner placed his patrol vehicle in front of the truck, and after the driver tried to nudge the car out of the way with the truck, he fled and was quickly caught by another officer.
The driver was identified as Samuel Aldrich, 29. The other man was identified as 20-year-old Artem Kuznetsov.
The witness confirmed Kuznetsov was the one siphoning the fuel from vehicles in the neighborhood.
A check of the truck’s VIN confirmed the truck was stolen, according to police.
Aldrich was booked into the Spokane County Jail on felony eluding and possession of stolen property charges. Kuznetsov was booked into jail on a third-degree theft charge.