Northwest briefly: Man pleads innocent in dragging death

Published 11:25 pm Friday, December 7, 2007

NEWPORT — A man charged with having his son take off in a pickup after tying a belligerent man to the trailer hitch has pleaded innocent to second-degree murder and manslaughter.

Trial for Wendell Clark Sinn Jr., 45, of Newman Lake, on the two alternate charges was set Thursday for March 31 in Pend Oreille County Superior Court.

His lawyer has said Sinn acted in self-defense and to protect others at a hunting campsite near Ione, about 75 miles north of Spokane, from Jerid S. Sturman-Camyn, 20, an Eastern Washington University sophomore, martial arts enthusiast and former state high school wrestling standout.

Sturman-Camyn was found dead Nov. 24 after being dragged at the end of a 22-foot rope about 13 miles down gravel and roughly paved roads behind a Ford F-250 pickup driven by Sinn’s son, Justin Daniel Sinn, 17, who called authorities and said he believed someone was chasing him down the road with an ax.

Investigators have said the teenager didn’t know Sturman-Camyn was roped to the pickup, adding that his view was likely obscured by darkness and the truck’s canopy.

Tacoma: Bank robber soldier sentenced

A Fort Lewis soldier was sentenced Friday to more than 11 years in federal prison for robbing the same Tacoma bank twice so he could pay off debts before he was deployed to Iraq.

Sgt. Christopher Brian Thompson, 29, pleaded guilty in May to armed bank robbery and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, the U.S. attorney’s office said in a news release.

U.S. District Judge Franklin Burgess sentenced Thompson to 11 years, nine months in prison and five years of supervised release.

Prosecutors alleged Thompson robbed a KeyBank branch on March 5 and March 22. He wore a mask and gloves and pointed a gun at employees both times.

Wenatchee: Man who started fire found guilty

An East Wenatchee man who started a wildfire last July was found guilty of unlawfully discharging a firework.

A Chelan County deputy prosecutor said he’ll seek jail time and restitution when 22-year-old Daniel P. Griffin is sentenced Wednesday in district court in Wenatchee.

Griffin set off a smoke bomb during a game of paintball, sparking a wildfire that burned nine square miles over five days and cost $1.85 million to fight, according to the Washington Incident Management Team.

Griffin testified before the verdict was returned Thursday that he didn’t think a smoke bomb would cause a fire in dry grass.

Pe Ell: Lookie-loos stranded, rescued

Lewis County sheriff’s deputies said three flood lookie-loos became stranded near Pe Ell and had to be rescued.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Stacy Brown said the two men and a woman in their late 20s and early 30s were all from Raymond.

About 6 p.m. Thursday, she said, a man walked into Pe Ell, cold and wet, saying he had just swum across the Chehalis River. He said three friends were stuck on the other side about half a mile upriver.

Low-lying fog and other problems made helicopter flying dangerous, but Brown said the three were located with the use of all-terrain vehicles on U.S. Forest Service roads.

They did not need medical attention and told rescue personnel they had come to see flood damage and logjams. Brown said no charges will be filed.

Seattle: Trial delayed in Jewish center attack

The trial for the man accused of killing one woman and wounding five others at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle office has been postponed until March 31.

Lawyers for Naveed Haq asked the King County Superior Court for more time.

Haq has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to 20 criminal charges.

If convicted of aggravated murder for the July 2006 shooting the 32-year-old would face life in prison without parole.

Trader Joe’s recalls condiment product

Trader Joe’s Company is recalling 1,000 cases of Trader Joe’s Pinjur because some customers reported finding small pieces of glass in the condiment, according to the company. The Monrovia, Calif., company did not immediately disclose if anyone was injured.

The product is a condiment made with roasted peppers, eggplant and tomatoes. It might have been sold in Trader Joe’s stores in many states, including Washington and Oregon.

The company asks consumers to discard the product or return it to any Trader Joe’s for a refund. For more information, call 626-599-3817 or visit www.traderjoes.com.

Yakima: 3 hurt at Army training center

Three people have been injured in a rollover wreck at the Yakima Training Center.

Washington Army National Guard officials said two were from the guard and one was a civilian contractor.

National Guard Lt. Keith Kosik at Camp Murray said the accident happened Tuesday, but he wouldn’t give the names of those involved or other details. Kosik did say one of those who was injured remains in a hospital while the other two have been released.

Scotty Bacon told the Yakima Herald-Republic that one of those who were injured was her son, Scott Bacon, 24, of Odessa.

She said all three were thrown forward when an armored security vehicle crashed nose-first while going down a hill. She added that they were taken to Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital for treatment of head and back injuries.