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

In brief: Colville police officer denies guilt in sex assault case

A Colville police officer facing multiple felony charges for alleged sexual misconduct while in uniform pleaded not guilty in a Stevens County courtroom Monday.

Rex Newport, 45, is accused of sexually assaulting a woman he followed home from a bar in March. After the woman came forward, an investigation revealed a pattern in which Newport, a 15-year veteran of the Colville force, would contact women driving home from bars and demand sex. The women were not investigated for drunken driving.

Newport has called the allegations “100 percent nonsense,” according to court documents.

A trial in the case is tentatively scheduled for January. Newport remains on administrative leave from the Colville Police Department, according to investigators.

Cars, drugs seized; two people arrested

Stolen cars, drugs and distribution equipment were seized Sunday from a rural home west of Newport, Wash.

Two people, 60-year-old William J. Wright, of Newport, and 41-year-old Stephanie D. Leuders, of Spokane, were arrested at 6444 Coyote Trail, according to a Pend Oreille County Sheriff’s Office news release.

The case included federal agents with the Border Patrol and U.S. Forest Service, and deputies from Pend Oreille County in Washington and Bonner County in Idaho.