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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

In brief: Gibson found guilty in 20-year-old murder

A judge has found a serial robber guilty in the 1992 murder of a Spokane Valley furniture store owner.

Superior Court Judge Tari Eitzen on Wednesday found Patrick Kevin Gibson guilty of first-degree murder after new DNA evidence implicated him in a case that had been cold.

On Nov. 7, 1992, Brian Cole, according to witnesses, was robbed at gunpoint by a man who also indicated he was willing to hurt Cole’s wife, who was in a wheelchair. The man shot Cole twice in the head and once in the chest.

The crime went unsolved for 19 years before DNA from a fake beard left at the East Sprague Avenue crime scene prompted detectives to arrest Gibson.

Gibson, 60, was arrested in Western Washington last year in connection with the killing.

Staff report

Northwest Maps selling only by phone, online

Northwest Maps, which for the past several years served as Spokane’s primary option for buying topographical and recreation maps, has closed its retail shop.

The business had operated for years in downtown Spokane before moving to East Sprague Avenue in Spokane Valley. Owner Steve Mitrovich said he sold his inventory to Metsker Maps, a specialty shop in Seattle’s Pioneer Square.

Mitrovich said he will continue to sell Northwest Maps’ line of area atlases and marketing maps through an Internet- and phone-only business. The company will take orders at www.nwmaps.com or (509) 455-6981.

Mitrovich said he closed the store, at 10525 E. Sprague Ave., on July 1 because the number of people needing recreation maps has dwindled and the business became seasonal. The volume of maps and books sold through the store was not large enough to justify running the brick-and-mortar business, he said.

Many recreationists order and print maps directly from websites such as USGS.gov and the Forest Service online map service, he said.

Tom Sowa