OLYMPIA — A Tenino man accused of shining a laser at a Washington State Patrol plane could be charged with a felony.
The State Patrol said the plane was flying at about 2,000 feet on a traffic assignment Saturday night when the pilot and flight officer aboard the Cessna noticed a green beam on the wing.
They took steps to avoid being blinded but circled long enough to identify where it was coming from.
Thurston County sheriff’s deputies went to a home and found the man who acknowledged using the laser. He says it’s not very powerful and he was just waving it around, not targeting the plane.
Deputies confiscated the laser. Thurston County prosecutors will decide whether to file a charge of first-degree unlawful discharge of a laser.
The Olympian
Ramtha School founder wins lawsuit
An Olympia jury has sided with Ramtha School founder JZ Knight in her breach of contract lawsuit against another spiritual teacher who calls herself Whitewind Weaver.
Thurston County Superior Court jurors deliberated less than two hours Monday before awarding a little more than $10,000 to Knight. That’s the amount that Weaver’s company, Life Coaching Inc., received from an August 2006 seminar where the contract violations occurred.
After watching video clips of Ramtha’s School of Enlightenment seminars chosen to match with those at Weaver’s seminar, jurors decided that Weaver violated terms of the Yelm-based school’s registration certificate, which says the school’s teachings are for students’ personal use only.
Weaver attended 12 classes or retreats at the Ramtha school before conducting her own workshop in nearby Rainier. Weaver says she’s satisfied that she stood up for what she believes is right.
The Olympian
Walla Walla: Charge in fatal camp shooting
A man suspected in the shooting death of a camping companion has been charged in Walla Walla with manslaughter.
Sheriff’s deputies say 55-year-old Robert L. Nelson of Walla Walla apparently shot 38-year-old Kenneth L. Brooks of Kennewick on Friday night while the men were drinking at a campsite about 20 miles east of Walla Walla.
Nelson was allegedly intoxicated early Saturday after arriving home covered in blood. He said he didn’t remember exactly what happened but the two had been drinking and firing Nelson’s pistol.
Deputies found Brooks’ body in a camp chair, shot in the neck.
Associated Press
Toledo: Oregon good Samaritan killed on I-5
A man who had stopped to help a driver who hit an elk on I-5 near Toledo was killed by another car.
The Washington State Patrol said Preston Newby, 24, of Tualatin, Ore., was trying to help the 16-year-old driver of the disabled car just before midnight Monday. The patrol said another vehicle swerved to miss the elk carcass and struck him.
The 16-year-old suffered cuts to her face and was treated at a hospital in Centralia.
Troopers say Newby was on his cell phone calling 911 when he was hit.
Associated Press
Port Angeles: Cell tower worker dies in fall
The state Department of Labor and Industries is investigating the death of a phone company subcontractor who fell to his death from a cell tower in Port Angeles.
Police say 40-year-old Jeremy Combs of Bonney Lake was about 40 feet up the tower on top of the Elks building on Friday when he fell.
Associated Press
Tacoma: Charge filed in fatal accident
Pierce County prosecutors have filed charges against the man accused in the hit and run accident that killed a bicyclist in Puyallup.
The charges filed Tuesday against 23-year-old Blair Robert Jensen include vehicular homicide and failure to remain at the scene of a fatal accident.
Police suspect Jensen was street racing the night of Sept. 8 when 51-year-old John McRae of Sumner was killed.
Prosecutors also have charged Jensen’s girlfriend, 20-year-old Christina Ripple, with rendering criminal assistance.
The News Tribune
Spokane: Man allegedly sells Indian items
A Pend Oreille County man has been indicted for illegally selling American Indian artifacts, cultural items and human remains.
Kenneth L. Milette, who lives near Newport, was indicted by a federal grand jury following an investigation started five years ago by the U.S. Department of Interior. He is scheduled to appear in court later this week.
He is accused of selling or exchanging artifacts including projectile points, stone tools, animal parts and human remains. The indictment alleged the thefts occurred on the Nez Perce, Coeur d’Alene, Spokane and Blackfeet reservations and other places.
Associated Press
South Dakota: Iron Pigs appear in courtroom
Five members of the Iron Pigs, a motorcycle club made up of law officers and firefighters, pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor weapons charges Tuesday in Meade County Circuit Court in Sturgis.
The charges stem from an Aug. 9 shooting that wounded a Hells Angels member during a brawl at the Loud American Roadhouse. The shooting occurred during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.
The five are Scott Lazalde, 38, of Bellingham; Dennis McCoy, 58, of Seattle; James Rector, 44, of Ferndale; Ron Smith of Seattle; and Erik Pingel of Aurora, Colo. They were off duty during the rally.
Joseph Patrick McGuire of Imperial Beach, Calif., was hospitalized for about three weeks after the shooting and faces alternate counts of aggravated and simple assault.
Associated Press
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