In brief: Sheriff’s deputies looking for copper wiring thieves

Spokane County sheriff’s deputies are looking for thieves who stole copper wiring worth thousands of dollars from a home and business in Spokane Valley last week.

The owner said more than a quarter mile of copper had been stripped from the power lines running between two buildings in the 2200 block of North Woodruff Road.

The theft occurred sometime between 7 p.m. Thursday and early Friday morning, the owner told police.

Also Friday, the owner of a home in the 4900 block of East Second Avenue said electrical wiring had been stripped sometime between Wednesday and Friday, according to a news release.

Idaho wolf featured in upcoming film

A captive wolf from the Wolf People facility in Cocolalla, Idaho, is featured in an upcoming film about OR-7, the Oregon wolf that traveled hundreds of miles to California in search of a mate.

The captive wolf will make an appearance at an event Friday sponsored by the Northern Idaho Wolf Alliance. A trailer for the movie by a Bend, Ore., filmmaker will also be shown.

Naturalist George Wuerthner will also give a talk on the ecology and social relationships of wolves, arguing that indiscriminate hunting and trapping is counterproductive.

The event takes place from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Friday at the Human Rights Institute in Coeur d’Alene, 414 W. Mullan Road. The event is free, with donations accepted.

Guilty plea entered in robbery slaying

TACOMA – A man pleaded guilty Monday to criminal assistance in the shooting death of a robbery victim in the private garage of a Tacoma condo building.

The 24-year-old Tacoma man, Jheri Flood, was sentenced in Pierce County Superior Court to one year and five months in prison.

Flood helped hide evidence by burning the victim’s wallet, the News Tribune reported.

Two other men are charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death last August of 54-year-old Lawrence Howse, 54, in the garage of the Sky Terrace condos.

Sheriff passes on dog shooting case

MISSOULA – The Missoula County sheriff’s office has ended its investigation into the shooting of a malamute on Lolo Pass by a hunter who apparently mistook it for a wolf.

Sheriff’s spokeswoman Paige Pavalone said Monday the agency passed the case over to the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks and the U.S. Forest Service. Both agencies earlier said they believed the case would be a criminal matter.

Layne Spence, of Missoula, said he was skiing with his three dogs on a quiet logging road Sunday afternoon when he heard a shot and saw his dog, Little Dave, fall down with a leg injury.

Spence said he screamed at the hunter to stop and asked what he was doing. He said the man said he thought the dog was a wolf.