In brief: Man, 21, arrested in armed robbery
One man was arrested and another is at large after an armed robbery in north Spokane late Friday.
The robbery of the Cenex gas station at Elgin Street and Francis Avenue hadn’t been reported yet when Spokane police Officer Stephen Arrendondo decided to check on two suspicious people near the gas station while on his routine patrol. When he turned his car toward the men, they fled on foot – one west and the other northwest.
Arrendondo chased the man who fled to the northwest and lost him. Only then did police hear of the armed robbery.
Several other officers and a K-9 unit responded to assist in the search. One man was found in a garage in the 2200 block of West Rosewood Avenue, and a firearm and other evidence was found in the 2100 block of West Houston Avenue.
Anthony D. Fuerte, 21, was arrested for first-degree robbery.
Anyone with any information on this case should call Crime Check at (509) 456-2233.
Storm watch issued for North Idaho
A winter storm watch is in effect for higher elevations in the Idaho Panhandle today and Monday.
Above 3,000 feet, between 12 and 18 inches of snow is expected to fall this evening through Monday, according to the National Weather Service. Lighter snow, with accumulations of between 2 and 4 inches, is expected during the day today.
The storm watch includes all mountain passes except for Fourth of July pass. Gusty winds are also expected, and the weather service said travel could be treacherous during the storm.
Girl’s body found in middle of river
ESTACADA, Ore. – The body of a 6-year-old girl has been found nearly a week after she was swept away in a frigid, fast-moving Oregon river.
Sheriff’s officials said a citizen found the body of Vinesa Snegur on Saturday on the rocks of a shallow island in the middle of the Clackamas River, four miles from the spot where she fell.
The girl’s parents took her to play in the snow last Sunday in the Mount Hood National Forest. Authorities said her father described the seconds before she fell in as a “moment of inattention.”
Man pleads guilty in 1979 killing
EVERETT – A 58-year-old Seattle man whose arrest for a 1979 killing was prompted by a tip from a deck of playing cards pleaded guilty Friday to the murder.
A prison inmate reported the tip last year after reading about the killing of Susan Schwarz on a playing card deck distributed by the Snohomish County sheriff’s cold case team.
Schwarz was killed in her home near Lynnwood.
Detectives arrested Gregory Johnson last year after receiving the inmate’s tip and tracking down a witness to the murder.