Three dead in U.S. 2 wreck near Spokane
SPOKANE — Three people were killed early Thursday when a vehicle going in the wrong direction collided with another vehicle on the eastbound onramp of U.S. 2 onto I- 90.
The Washington State Patrol said the ramp was closed for three hours following the 2:11 a.m. collision.
Dead at the scene were 22-year-old Sterling N. Kruger of Davenport, 61-year-old James Roscoe Bolton of Spokane Valley, and 47-year-old Trina Louise Erickson of Spokane Valley.
Troopers said Kruger was driving west in the eastbound lanes of I-90 when he entered the U.S. 2 onramp going the wrong way. He collided with a car driven by Bolton, with Erickson as a passenger.
Olympia: Ruling on stepparent suits
Stepparents can’t sue the state over claims of negligent child abuse investigation, the state Supreme Court has ruled.
In a 6-3 opinion issued Thursday, the court says that only parents, custodians, guardians or the children involved can sue the state for a claim of negligent investigation.
The case was sparked by Kent Ducote, who was barred from his home and from contact with three stepchildren after a one of them accused him of sexual misconduct.
The accusations were dismissed, and Ducote was allowed to return home. But he sued the state Department of Social and Health Services over the investigation.
The court’s dissenting justices say stepparents who are integral parts of the family should have a right to bring a claim.
State getting kids’ health bonus
A state-run health care program for poor children is getting a “bonus” from the federal government.
The Apple Health for Kids program provides health care for uninsured children. The cost is shared by the state and federal governments.
On Thursday, officials announced that Washington was among nine states getting extra federal money for meeting performance goals. Washington’s cut is $7.5 million.
Apple Health is one of the programs that Gov. Chris Gregoire says could face spending cuts if the Legislature doesn’t approve higher taxes of some kind. But the program has powerful supporters, including House Speaker Frank Chopp, D-Seattle.
Oregon: Inmate guilty of scam
An Oregon inmate accused of cheating a telephone company and a county jail by figuring out how to avoid making collect calls and then selling the method to other inmates has been sentenced to five years in prison.
Charles Louis Sampson Jr. and an accomplice set up business lines through Qwest Communications using the identities of other people and fake business names, The Oregonian newspaper reported. Sampson sold his method to other Multnomah County jail inmates for about $50, authorities said.
Associated Press
Once an inmate placed an order with Sampson, he would tell Qwest to forward calls made to one of those business lines to the inmate’s family or friends, the newspaper said. That allowed inmates to avoid the $2.35 collect-call fee charged to those who accepted their calls.
Qwest typically shut down the business lines after 90 days because the bills went unpaid.
Sampson, 42, pleaded guilty in the case earlier this month. He’s been held in Multnomah County jail since 2006 while he awaits trial on a murder charge.
Arsonist released from Oregon prison
Radical environmentalist Jeffrey “Free” Luers has been released from prison after spending more than nine years behind bars for setting three SUVs on fire at a Eugene dealership.
Luers was initially sentenced to almost 23 years in prison. That was a sentence many considered disproportionately harsh because no one was injured. The Oregon Court of Appeals reduced the sentence in 2007.
A spokeswoman for the Oregon Department of Corrections said he was released from prison on Wednesday.
Luers’ co-defendant, Craig “Critter” Marshall, accepted a plea bargain and served less than five years in prison.
Federal worker accused of luring
Federal prosecutors say a manager at the Portland office of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management has been arrested for trying to lure a 14-year-old girl he met online.
Kyle D. Worley, the office’s human resources manager, appeared Wednesday before a U.S. magistrate judge.
Prosecutors say the 51-year-old sent the girl lewd videos of himself and that his plan to meet up with her was foiled by the girl’s stepfather, who learned she had been contacted on a teen dating site by a man using the screen name Magical Tongue.
Driver in fatal sentenced in Salem
An illegal immigrant who drove away after hitting a toddler in a Salem parking lot has been sentenced to one year and five months in prison.
Juan Lopez-Perez pleaded guilty Thursday morning to failing to perform the duties of a driver in a crash.
Defense attorney Steven Walls said his client left the scene Nov. 24 because a crowd was gathering, he feared for his safety and he was in the country illegally. Neither drugs nor alcohol contributed to the collision that killed his neighbor — 2-year-old Erika Rubi Meza.
Walls said the 31-year-old Lopez-Perez has been married for 16 years, has three children and no prior criminal record.
Idaho: Search on for fugitive
Search on for Idaho fugitive with alleged grudge
The U.S. Marshals service is looking for a man on probation who has threatened to kill the law enforcement officers he believes killed his father in Spokane, eight years ago.
The Idaho Department of Corrections said in a release Thursday that 21-year-old Shawn Michael Buroker went missing last month.
Buroker was sentenced in January to three years probation for conspiracy to commit burglary in Nez Perce County. He moved to Washington state in March under an interstate supervision agreement.
The Idaho Statesman reports that the Idaho Department of Corrections has asked a judge for a no bond, nationwide arrest warrant for Buroker.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
