In brief: Man robbed at gunpoint in garage
Masked gunmen tied up and robbed a Spokane Valley man Monday after confronting the victim in his garage.
A neighbor later freed the 59-year-old victim, hearing his cries for help, according to the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office. The robbers reportedly took unspecified coins and the victim’s black 1997 Ford F350 pickup truck with a silver stripe.
The robbery occurred just before 11 a.m. in a detached garage to a home in the 13800 block of East Heroy. One of the masked men had a black pistol.
The truck has Washington license plates, number B40063U. One robber was described as about 6-feet tall and wearing a dark jacket with white on it. He had on dark pants or jeans. The second was about 5-foot-9, wearing a red, plaid-type jacket with dark pants or jeans.
Short has no plans for Senate seat
OLYMPIA – Rep. Shelly Short will not seek the state Senate seat that becomes open on Jan. 1 with the retirement of Bob Morton.
Morton, a 22-year veteran of the Legislature, announced last week that he would retire halfway through his current term. His position will be filled through a process that takes as many as three nominations from Republican precinct committee officers in Northeastern Washington’s 7th Legislative District and a majority vote by commissioners of the five counties in the district.
Short, who was elected to a third House term in November, said she wants to remain there.
Rep. Joel Kretz, the district’s senior House member, previously said he would not seek the seat.
Man faces arson charges in house fire
Investigators have arrested a man accused of setting fire to his West Central home earlier this month.
Nobody was injured during the attempted arson on Nov. 5 when he allegedly threw a Molotov cocktail through the window of a home in the 1800 block of West Gardner Avenue, according to previous police reports.
The suspect, identified as James J. Caraker, 20, originally told police he was the victim of a racially motivated crime.
Caraker faces first-degree arson charges and was booked into Spokane County Jail last week with bond set at $25,000.
Share holiday light displays for listing
Residents of the Inland Northwest have been busily decking their halls, and we want to know all about it.
If you or your neighbors have a noteworthy holiday display this year, share the details with Spokesman-Review readers. Go to www.spokesman.com/ holidaylights/ and click on the “Tell us about it” link. There, you’ll be asked to provide an address for the festive home, as well as a brief description of the display. We’ll need your contact information, too, but don’t worry – we’ll keep that information to ourselves.
The list will be posted at spokesman.com/ holidaylights, where you can see all of the addresses, sort them by neighborhood or even create maps for your own personal tour.
We’ll publish a roundup of the decorated homes on Dec. 15 in the Today section.