Local briefly: 2 unrelated bodies found near Stanwood
Published 10:38 pm Thursday, February 21, 2008
Snohomish County sheriff’s deputies Thursday night were investigating two bodies discovered in separate locations in the Stanwood area. The deaths do not appear to be related, Snohomish County sheriff’s spokeswoman Rebecca Hover said .
A man’s body was found Thursday afternoon in on vacant property in the 8100 block of 140th Street NW, north of the Tulalip Indian Reservation.
The body of a woman was discovered about 6:30 p.m. near the 31700 block of Pioneer Highway, north of Stanwood.
Snohomish County sheriff’s deputies were investigating the man’s death, Hover said. The person’s age and identity were not immediately known, Hover said.
There was no immediate indication how the person died or how long the body had been there. The body was found when the owner of the property went to inspect the land.
Relatives of the dead woman reported finding her body in water, said Battalion Chief Christian Davis, spokesman for North County Fire and EMS. Davis said he didn’t know what body of water it was.
The woman’s car was found nearby. She was fully clothed, and Davis said the woman was in her 40s or 50s. Sheriff’s deputies also were investigating her death, Davis said.
Monroe: Man steals van, crashes
A man didn’t get far Thursday when he tried to outrun police in a van used as a mobile document shredding center.
The van was reported stolen in Everett about 10 a.m. Monroe police officers received a tip that the van may be headed toward their city, Monroe police Administrative Bureau Chief Debbie Willis said.
About 15 minutes later, police spotted the van parked at Fred Meyer along U.S. 2.
Police officers tried to contact the man but he jumped into the van and raced off, Willis said. Police chased the man for a short distance before he crashed into a Snohomish County sheriff’s patrol vehicle and three other cars.
No one was hurt in the 11:30 a.m. crash. The man was arrested. He was expected to be booked into the county jail for investigation of theft and assault.
Police don’t believe the man had any access to sensitive information that was destined for shredding.
Lynnwood: Man struck by CT bus
A man was seriously injured late Wednesday when he was hit by a Community Transit bus, officials said.
The man, who has not been identified, was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Lynnwood police spokeswoman Shannon Sessions said. Police believe the man is a transient. He was in critical but stable condition Thursday, Sessions said.
The collision occurred around 11:15 p.m. on Highway 99 just south of 164th Street SW.
Several passengers were on the bus and no one was injured, Community Transit spokesman Tom Pearce said.
“The coach operator wasn’t injured but he was shaken up,” Pearce said.
The bus driver was placed on leave during an internal investigation and is being offered counseling, he said.
It appears the man was not in a crosswalk, Pearce said.
The southbound lanes of Highway 99 were closed for several hours during an investigation.
Marysville: Man charged in tax fraud
The operator of a Marysville septic tank company was charged Thursday with felony theft of sales tax and filing fraudulent state tax returns to cover up the thefts.
Jeffrey S. Rice, 44, owner of American Septic Service Inc., was charged in Snohomish County Superior Court with one count of first-degree theft and 10 counts of filing false or fraudulent tax returns. The charges were filed by the state Attorney General’s Office at the request of the Washington State Department of Revenue.
Rice is accused of failing to report at least $4,230 in sales taxes he collected from customers during 2006, and reporting only a third of his company’s gross income subject to business and occupation tax.
According to charging papers, the department filed charges after comparing the company’s reporting income with its bank deposits and invoices obtained from customers.
From Herald staff reports
