Police arrest Auburn man in lawyer’s death

AUBURN — Police on Wednesday arrested a man in the beating death of a bankruptcy lawyer.

Lawyer William W. Messer, 57, was found dead in his office Monday night after an apparent struggle. Police said the law office had been broken into repeatedly in recent months.

Police arrested a 42-year-old Auburn man, saying he was at the lawyer’s office on Monday evening for a legal matter but left after an argument. The man returned to Messer’s office with a blunt instrument, police said, adding that they have obtained search warrants for the man’s house and vehicle.

In a statement late Wednesday, police said the investigation was continuing, but "this does not appear to be a random crime, but directed at Mr. Messer."

Associated Press

Spokane: Husband faces murder charge

Andrea Atkinson’s last act was to push her children out of the way as a van crushed her to death on the front lawn of a Spokane home. The three children ran screaming at their father’s van Monday night as he backed up to hit Andrea Atkinson again on the lawn. The 29-year-old mother of four died from crushed bones in her chest that caused internal bleeding, Spokane police said. On Tuesday, her estranged husband, Richard A. Atkinson, 32, appeared in court to face a charge of first-degree murder. District Court Judge Patti Walker ordered him held on a $1 million bond. The motive appears to be rage, police said.

The Spokesman-Review

Bremerton: Vinson leaves for training

The Bremerton-based aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson left for a three-week training exercise Tuesday morning. It is the third time this year the Vinson has left port. This training mission will involve picking up a squadron that will begin carrier qualifications, the last phase before becoming naval pilots.

The Sun

Tacoma: Troubled man sentenced for slaying

A man described by a judge as mentally troubled but not legally insane has been sentenced to 22 years in prison for beating his neighbor to death. Rejecting the advice of his lawyer, James Robert Collins, 47, a security guard, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder Tuesday in the death of 56-year-old Ruth Anne Galloway. The sentence imposed by a Pierce County Superior Court judge was at the low end of the standard range as recommended by prosecution and defense lawyers. Collins beat Galloway with his son’s baseball bat on March 31, 2003, because he thought she and her husband, J.D. Galloway, were harassing him out of jealousy and were about to torch his house.

Associated Press

Oregon: Coast Guard rescues 3 from boat

The Coast Guard rescued three men from a sinking fishing boat five miles at sea from Depoe Bay on Wednesday. The Yaquina Bay Coast Guard Station at Newport received a distress call from the 78-foot Jaguar, based in Coos Bay, at 8 a.m. Guardsmen launched a 30-foot surf rescue boat and a 47-foot motor lifeboat, the Coast Guard said. The motor lifeboat crew rescued the fishermen and took them to Depoe Bay, where they were examined and released. The boat sank in 250 feet of water in swells to 10 feet and winds from the southwest at 25 knots.

Associated Press