Northwest Briefly: Seattle assault suspect arrested in San Diego

Published 11:06 pm Wednesday, March 3, 2010

SEATTLE — A man accused of assaulting a Seattle police officer while resisting arrest was arrested Tuesday in San Diego while returning to the United States from Mexico.

The Seattle Times reported that Steve C. Hyatt, 33, will be returned to face charges.

The officer attempted to pull over a driver Feb. 10 but he sped off, then crashed. The officer caught him but the man struck her, tried to grab her gun and got away.

Cops pinch pickpocket suspects

Seattle police say they have arrested a pair of pickpockets responsible for “countless” thefts over the past year.

Investigators identified suspects, and detectives arrested the men Tuesday.

Police said the pair worked downtown malls, buses and escalators. The well-dressed men, ages 48 and 58, would sandwich victims. The man in front would suddenly stop, causing the victim to bump into him. The following pickpocket would pretend to bump into the victim, then steal his wallet.

Most victims didn’t realize they had their pockets picked until later.

Man pleads guilty to murder

A Vashon Island man has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of his tenant.

The Seattle Times reported that 25-year-old Jon Kunkel entered the plea Wednesday in King County Superior Court. He was charged in the Aug. 19, 2007, shooting death of Ronald Childers. The Times said sheriff’s investigators have alleged that Childers was killed because he owed money to Kunkel.

Spokane: Winter weather goes from wild to mild

Golf courses are already open around Spokane, which is enjoying one of the mildest winters in its history thanks to El Nino weather patterns.

The National Weather Service said January and February were the fourth-warmest since record keeping began in 1881. Spokane had an average temperature of 36.4 degrees over the past two months, which is 6.6 degrees above normal. Temperatures this week have approached 60 degrees in town.

And, after record snowfall of more than 97 inches last winter, the amount of snow this winter is on pace to be among the lowest accumulations in history. Spokane International Airport has reported 13.7 inches of snow this season. If no more snow falls, it would be the third lowest since measuring began in 1892.

Jury rules to lock up sex predator indefinitely

A Spokane County Superior Court jury has determined that 59-year-old Ronald Timm is a sex predator who should be locked up indefinitely.

The Spokesman-Review reported that the jury’s decision was announced Wednesday in the civil commitment case. Timm was convicted in 1989 of statutory rape and in 1996 for first-degree rape of a child. While in prison, he told a counselor that he had molested 24 children, all between the ages of 3 and 7.

Timm served a 10-year sentence from the 1996 conviction and has spent the past three years in custody awaiting the commitment trial.

Olympia: Fewest fatalities on state roads since 1955

The Washington Traffic Safety Commission says there were 490 highway fatalities in 2009 in Washington. That’s 31 fewer than the year before and the fewest in 54 years.

In a report Wednesday, the commission noted deaths dropped even as road travel increased five-fold since 1955, when 461 people lost their lives.

Commission Director Lowell Porter said the decline is the result of a combination of public safety education, improved roadway engineering, emergency medical services and strong enforcement of traffic laws.

Kent: Teacher pleads not guilty to sex charge

An Auburn Adventist Academy teacher accused of having sex with a student when she was 15 and 16 years old pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Wednesday in King County Superior Court in Kent.

Scott Allen Spies is charged with sexual misconduct and child rape. The 49-year-old Auburn man has been fired from the school where he taught Bible classes.

He’s free on bail and under orders to have no contact with the girl or any other minors unless supervised by an adult who is aware of the charges.

Yakima: Woman jailed for failing to care for son’s dental needs

A Yakima woman who failed to seek timely dental care for her developmentally disabled son was sentenced to three months in jail.

Kathren Ann Carter was convicted last month of criminal mistreatment and sentenced Monday in Yakima County Superior Court.

The Yakima Herald-Republic reported her son was taken from her in 2008 and put in foster care.

The boy suffered several abscesses from severe decay. Several teeth had to be removed.

Carter’s defense lawyer said she lacked money and was unaware of the problem.

Stevenson: Canoeist still missing on Columbia

The Skamania County Sheriff’s Office said the search continued Wednesday for a canoeist missing on the Columbia River near Stevenson.

Fifty-five-year-old Jimmie Caldwell of Stevenson went canoeing around 1 a.m. Sunday and was reported missing later that morning by his wife.

Caldwell’s canoe and paddle were found about one mile downstream from his launch site.

Undersheriff Dave Cox told The Columbian it was not unusual for Caldwell to set out on the river in the middle of the night when the weather was clear.

Chehalis: 13-year sentence for Pe Ell crossbow shooting

A man who shot another man in the neck with a crossbow at Pe Ell has been sentenced to 13 years in prison.

A Lewis County Superior Court judge gave the Pe Ell man, Lehman Neil Delavergne, a sentence Monday at the high end of the range for assault.

Delavergne pleaded guilty for the crossbow and knife attack last November on Leonard Kowalsky.

The Olympian reported Delavergne was angry that his wife was staying at Kowalsky’s house.

Tri-Cities: Old Hanford water tower torn down

Cleanup workers have pulled down the last water tower than once served plutonium-producing reactors along the Columbia River on the Hanford nuclear reservation.

Closure Hanford workers pulled down the 125-foot tower with cables, cut it apart and buried the 125 tons of debris in a landfill on the site.

The Tri-City Herald reported it was the last Hanford water tower along the river where it was a landmark for boaters. As recently as the 1980s, the tower served as a backup source of water for firefighters.

Buena: Ultralight pilot breaks bones in crash

A fire official says a pilot was injured when his ultralight aircraft nosed into the ground late Wednesday afternoon at the Buena Airport south of Yakima.

Yakima Fire District 5 Capt. J.J. Ihnen said the man was doing some touch and go landings. He said the pilot had just lifted off when the craft apparently stalled and nosedived.

Ihnen said the unidentified man suffered some fractures. Additional details were not immediately available.

Vancouver, Wash.: Judge says murder suspect was insane during stabbing

A judge has decided that a Vancouver man was legally insane when he stabbed his sister to death.

Michael Schuurmans believed he was God and his sister was Satan’s spawn when he killed 53-year-old Shirry L. Dohman-Rice in February 2009 at the Vancouver home they shared with their mother.

The Columbian reported Clark County Superior Court Judge Robert Lewis ruled at Tuesday’s hearing that Schuurmans had a psychotic lapse.

The 48-year-old was charged with murder. Another court hearing is set for March 22 to decide whether he’ll be committed to Western State Hospital.

Kelso: Longview killer sentenced to 54 years

A Longview man who admitted killing his ex-girlfriend’s mother and wounding her father has been sentenced to 54 years in prison.

Anthony Michael James Scott, 21, had pleaded guilty last week to murder and attempted murder.

He shot Kathleen and Robert Tubbs in October 2008. After the shooting, Scott left his ex-girlfriend a voicemail saying, “Hope you like the gift.”

On Wednesday, defense lawyer Terry Mulligan told Cowlitz County Superior Court that Scott has a long history of mental illness and was physically and sexually abused as a child.

Judge Jim Stonier said the sentencing was difficult because of Scott’s mental health problems but the judge decided he couldn’t impose anything less than the statutory maximum term.

Oregon: Woman accused in child porn case with boy

A 49-year-old Portland woman accused of engaging a 14-year-old Tennessee boy in online sexual chats and trading explicit photos has been arrested by FBI agents.

Sallie Lawson Fifield was arrested Wednesday at her home on a warrant issued in Tennessee. She is charged in a criminal complaint with enticement and transferring obscene material. The boy lives in western Tennessee.

The complaint said Fifield met the boy while playing the online game “World of Warcraft” last July.

She made an initial federal court appearance Wednesday and was released pending a March 17 hearing.

Couple stuck overnight in snow after following GPS

A Coos Bay couple became stuck in the Cascade Range after following their GPS unit’s instructions to drive on back roads.

Jack and Angelique Stokes said they set off Sunday on a trip from Mill City to Hood River. Relying on their GPS, they told The Oregonian that they plotted a route on Brietenbush Road in Detroit to secondary Forest Service roads to U.S. 26. However, they made it only to Summit Lake in Clackamas County before their car got stuck in snow.

Angelique Stokes said she and her husband decided to spend the night in their car and hike out Monday. The GPS unit was handy for that, she said, guiding them down the mountain to where they could get cell phone service and call authorities who had been looking for them.

From Herald news services