EVERETT – A fire started by a Halloween candle caused an estimated $150,000 in damage to an Everett family’s home Wednesday night, firefighters said.
The candle was apparently left burning when the family went to a hockey game, Everett Fire Department Battalion Chief Nick Walker said.
The fire heavily damaged the living room of the home in the 200 block of 79th Place SW, Walker said. The fire was reported shortly before 9 p.m.
The family has insurance, but is being aided by the American Red Cross.
Man gets 17-year term in girl’s abduction, rape
An Everett man will spend more than 17 years in prison for the abduction and rape of a 9-year-old girl taken from a school bus stop in January 2000.
Shane Allen Herzog, 29, was linked in February to the attack through genetic evidence. He pleaded guilty in September to two counts of first-degree child rape and one count of first-degree child molestation.
Snohomish County Superior Court Judge George Bowden sentenced Herzog to 17 years and eight months in prison, calling the attack “an exceptionally brutal crime.”
Herzog seized the girl at an Everett bus stop, forced her into his car and drove her around the area, according to court documents. He sexually assaulted her in numerous locations and held her captive for more than four hours before releasing her.
The break in the case came when Herzog was convicted of an unrelated drug charge and was required under state law to provide a DNA sample. His genetic profile was added to the state’s DNA database, and scientists matched it with the attack on the girl, court documents say.
Man pleads not guilty to assault and shooting
James Michael Morrison pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges that he assaulted his former sister-in-law and shot her boyfriend to death.
The Everett man is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Jay Harmon, 36. Morrison is also charged with second-degree assault and first-degree burglary. He is being held in Snohomish County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail.
Morrison told detectives he wanted to scare Harmon so he would leave his brother’s ex-wife, court documents say. He broke into his former sister-in-law’s Marysville duplex Oct. 10, pistol-whipped her and shot Harmon several times, charging papers say.
Morrison was arrested the following day north of Snohomish after a seven-hour standoff with sheriff’s deputies.
Index: Man burned out of home a second time
The camper home of an Index man was consumed by fire Thursday morning, firefighters said.
The fire was reported at 8:51 a.m. Thursday in the 21600 block of Stub Road, Index Fire Lt. Ernie Walters said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, but the man told firefighters the fire started in his kitchen area, Walters said.
He suffered minor leg burns after trying to put the blaze out with a fire extinguisher, Walters said.
This is the second time fire has destroyed the man’s home, according to the American Red Cross, which is providing him assistance.
Seattle: Fuel oil spill ruled accidental
The sinking of a barge that led to 10 gallons of fuel oil being spilled into Salmon Bay in Ballard represents the only state Department of Ecology pollution penalty for a Snohomish County company for July, August and September.
“It was an accidental sinking, but negligence was found as a contributing factor,” said Larry Altose, an Ecology Department spokesman.
Lakeshore Marine Construction Corp. of Mukilteo was fined $7,000 in August after oil in its barge leaked into the water after the barge sank in February, Altose said.
Jason Fanning, general manager of Lakeshore Marine Construction, said the barge was moored in Salmon Bay because his company had been hired to do some pile driving in the bay.
He said there was 5 gallons of fuel in a crane on the barge and another 5 gallons in portable container.
From Herald staff and wire reports
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