BELLINGHAM — The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office says three people from Ferndale have been arrested for investigation of animal cruelty after four dogs were found with their throats slit in a wooded area.
Three of the dogs were dead and one dog, a 10-week-old puppy of Yorkshire terrier and dachshund mix, was barely alive. The puppy was nursed back to health at the Whatcom Humane Society and is now living in protective custody at a foster home, healing from its wound.
Arrested for investigation of four counts each of felony animal cruelty were 46-year-old Maria Huffman, 23-year-old Richard Huffman and 45-year-old Michael Wopat.
The trio previously was arrested for investigation of separate animal cruelty charges Oct. 27. In that case, Sheriff Bill Elfo says about 40 malnourished animals, including cats, dogs, chickens, ducks and other birds, were found to be suffering from a variety of ailments and living in filthy conditions.
Seattle: Woman’s adviser found guilty
A 52-year-old former trustee for Whitworth University has been convicted of bilking an elderly woman out of $150,000 while he worked as her self-appointed financial adviser.
A King County Superior Court jury returned its verdict Friday against Tom Delanty of Tulalip in less than one day of deliberations.
Jurors found Delanty guilty of 26 out of 28 counts of first- and second-degree theft and of abusing the trust of a vulnerable person. Delanty was acquitted on two counts of first-degree theft because Betty Huegli had signed two checks herself.
Delanty faces nearly four years in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 12.
Huegli was in her 80s and living in Bellevue when Delanty began to help her with household tasks and bill-paying. The Huegli family fired Delanty in October 2005. Huegli is now living in a Gig Harbor retirement home.
Lacey: Police fatally shoot man after chase
Olympia police shot and killed a man Saturday morning following a car chase and traffic stop that ended in nearby Lacey.
The man was not immediately identified. It was not immediately determined how many times the man was shot.
Lacey Police Lt. Jim Mack said one or more Olympia officers were involved in the shooting after police chased the man in a black Honda following different shooting in Olympia early Saturday.
A gun was recovered from the car the man was driving, Mack said.
Mack said officers gave the man verbal commands to surrender before the fatal shot or fatal shots were fired.
Walla Walla: Teen girl gets 2-year sentence
A 15-year-old girl from Milton-Freewater, Ore., will serve about two years or longer for robbing the Walla Walla Worm Ranch, a tackle shop and eatery.
Mayra Gomez was sentenced Friday in the Juvenile Department of Walla Walla County Superior Court to 103 to 129 weeks in a state juvenile institution. State authorities will determine the exact amount of time she will be incarcerated.
Judge Robert Zagelow gave Gomez credit for the 63 days she’s already served in the county’s Juvenile Justice Center. Gomez pleaded guilty Oct. 31 to first-degree robbery.
The robbery was Sept. 11.
An 18-year-old co-defendant, Michael J. Miranda-Vargas of Milton-Freewater, also pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery and is awaiting sentencing. Miranda-Vargas faces a standard-range prison term of 31 to 41 months because his case was handled in adult court.
Vancouver, Wash.: Iraq veteran sentenced
An Iraq War veteran who was convicted of shooting at a driver who cut him off has been sentenced to 11 years in prison by a Clark County Superior Court judge.
Nobody was hurt in the Sept. 18, 2007, shooting.
Friday’s sentence handed down against 26-year-old Christopher P. Partridge could have been more than twice as long if Judge John Nichols had followed the Washington state sentencing guidelines.
Partridge was convicted Oct. 8 of two counts of first-degree assault for firing at a driver and her passenger. Each Class A felony came with firearm enhancements that carry mandatory five-year terms and must run consecutive to each other. The state Legislature sets those laws.
Partridge was driving on state Highway 500 when he fired at a driver who testified she made an abrupt lane change.
Partridge pulled alongside the woman’s car and fired his .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol out his passenger window. A bullet went through the driver’s door. A witness reported Partridge’s license plate number to 911.
Oregon: Judge clears naked bike rider
A judge has ruled that you can, indeed, “let it all hang out” in Portland and dismissed indecent exposure charges against a nude bicycle rider who did just that.
In Portland, the judge said, cycling naked has been anointed as a “well-established tradition” and understood as a form of “symbolic protest.”
Judge Jerome LaBarre said the city’s annual World Naked Bike Ride — in which as many as 1,200 people took part last June 14 — has helped cement riding in the buff as a form of protest against cars and dependence on fossil fuels.
LaBarre then cleared Michael “Bobby” Hammond, 21, after two days of hearings who ran afoul of the constabulary June 26, when he stripped down and hopped on his 10-speed in an effort, he says, to show that he alone was powering it.
Associated Press
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