A man who steered his van onto the shoulder of Highway 16 on Wednesday morning before collapsing died of natural causes, specifically heart disease, the Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office reported today.

Witnesses said the man was eastbound on Highway 16 near the 19th Street interchange about 5:30 a.m. Wednesday when he drove onto the shoulder and stopped.

State troopers later found him dead behind the wheel.

No one else was hurt.

Tacoma police officers have detained an 11-year-old boy who had a pellet-type gun on the afternoon school bus.

The driver notified Tacoma police about a possible weapon on a Tacoma school bus near South 35th and G streets shortly before 2 p.m., police spokesman Mark Fulghum said.

The student got off the bus and ran into his house, then came back out.

Officers detained the boy and found the gun. No injuries were reported.

The Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office has identified the 57-year-old man who was killed by a Pierce County deputy on Monday night.

Kenneth Woodham died of gunshot wounds to the chest, the office reported today.

The Pierce County Sheriff's Department and Prosecutor's Office are investigating the deadly deputy-involved shooting.

Woodham's wife called 911 on Monday night to report he'd been drinking and screaming at her and her mother. Two deputies arrived at the family's home in the 800 block of 111th Street South shortly before 10 p.m.

After seeing the deputies, Woodham reportedly went into the garage. He returned holding a loaded gun, the Sheriff's Department has reported.

The deputies asked the man to drop the weapon but he refused. When he started to raise the pistol, deputy Seth Huber opened fire.

Woodham was struck. Paramedics took him to St. Joseph Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Huber and the other deputy at the scene were put on paid administrative leave after the shooting.

Commuters through Pierce County are experiencing some problems this morning.

A wreck blocked the far right lane of northbound Interstate 5 near the Puyallup River Bridge for nearly an hour this morning.

It's been cleared but the backup is five miles long.

Now, drivers on the westbound Highway 512 are experiencing some delays because of a crash on the right shoulder near Steele Street.

A 19-year-old man pleaded not guilty today to a shooting in Tacoma's Salishan housing area that left a woman dead and her boyfriend badly wounded.

Kacy J. Estes, 19, is charged with one count each of first-degree murder, first-degree assault and unlawfully possessing a firearm in the March 31 incident. Prosecutors also have charged him with second-degree murder in the death of Crystal Rhoads to give themselves options during plea bargaining and at trial.

Pierce County Superior Court Judge Brian Tollefson ordered Estes jailed in lieu of $1 million bail.

Prosecutors allege Estes (seen here) shot Rhoads, 29, and her boyfriend after an argument at an apartment at East 46th and R streets. Two children sleeping in another room weren’t hurt.

Court records state Estes was angry that Rhoads’ boyfriend had “disrespected” him while the group was doing drugs at the apartment.

Estes shot Rhoads six times and the boyfriend three times, prosecutors allege. Rhoads died from her wounds.

A 53-year-old Tacoma man died in his vehicle on the shoulder of Highway 16 this morning of an "unknown medical condition," the State Patrol reported.

The man was driving eastbound near the 19th Street interchange about 5:30 a.m. when he pulled his Chevrolet van onto the left shoulder, troopers said.

Troopers found him dead inside the van when they arrived on the scene.

The incident is under investigation.

Tacoma police want the public’s help to find a man who recently was charged with sexually assaulting a woman nearly nine years ago.

Tacoma-Pierce County Crime Stoppers is offering up to $1,000 for information leading to Luis R. Garcia’s arrest.

Earlier this month, prosecutors charged the 25-year-old (pictured here) with first-degree rape and second-degree assault in connection with a brutal attack Aug. 24, 2000. A warrant was issued for his arrest.

A "cold hit" on a DNA sample taken from evidence collected in the case allowed prosecutors to file charges in the case, deputy prosecutor Mary Robnett said.

Court documents provide the following information.

The victim was with a friend when their car broke down Aug. 24, 2000. The victim eventually walked to a bus stop, met up with two men and accepted their offer of a ride.

The men drove to an apartment complex and parked. The woman objected but the suspects grabbed her and pulled her from the car and into an apartment.

Both men repeatedly punched her and ripped her clothes off. One of the attackers put on a condom and raped the woman, court documents state.

The victim was forced into a bathroom and told to wash herself but she refused. The attackers locked her in the bathroom for a while, then released her.

The men threatened to return with more friends to do her more harm, then left. The woman, who wasn’t wearing any clothing, fled and knocked on doors for help.

Another resident let her inside and called police. The woman was taken to the hospital, where doctors found she had several facial fractures.

Officers responded to the scene and collected a condom from the bathroom.

Six years later, a scientist at the Washington State Patrol crime lab developed a DNA profile from the condom. The scientist ran the profile against state and national databases of known offenders but found no matches.

The scientist reran the DNA profile through the same databases in May 2008 and found it matched Garcia.

Detectives continued to work the case and charges were filed against Garcia this month. Investigators have been searching for him since a warrant was issued April 14 but have been unable to locate him.

Lighting has begun to strike across the area, causing at least one outage in Tacoma.

A strike caused a transformer fire in South Tacoma, and Tacoma Public Utilties said some customers are in the dark. A call to a TPU spokeswoman has not been returned. Fire crews have been kept busy with alarms going off at businesses throughout the area.

The National Weather Service is reporting a thunderstorm could last until about 11 p.m. with winds of up to 13 mph.

A car fire is blocking the right lane of Highway 167 near Kent.

The state Department of Transportation said the fire started at about 5:55 p.m. at South 212th Ave. Fire crews, the Washington State Patrol and DOT Incident Response crews are on the scene.

The third suspect in the deadly Salishan housing development shooting turned himself in Tuesday afternoon.

Tacoma Police say Kacy J. Estes, 19, contacted an attorney this week, who told police Estes wanted to turn himself in. Just as planned, Estes walked into the department's headquarters at about 1 p.m. Tuesday. He didn't want to say anything, and was booked on multiple charges, including first- and second-degree murder. He also had outstanding warrants for traffic infractions, police spokesman Mark Fulghum said.

Two other suspects - Michelle D. Deda, 24, and Alejandro F. Lloret, 25 - have been arrested and pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder.

Prosecutors allege Estes shot Crystal Rhoads and her boyfriend March 31 after an argument at an apartment at East 46th and East R streets. Two children sleeping in another room weren't hurt.

Court records state Estes was angry that Rhoads' boyfriend had "disrespected" him while the group was doing drugs at the apartment. After leaving the apartment, Lloret suggested the group go back and rob the man, according to the records, and Deda drove them back to Salishan.

Estes shot Rhoads six times and the boyfriend three times, according to the records. Rhoads died from her wounds.

Misdemeanor courts across Washington will hold a "Debt Reduction Program" next month to help people pay off court fines and get their driving privileges restored.

Throughout May, the courts will be offering reductions on outstanding fines and those already sent to collection agencies. Once the fines are paid, courts will notify the state to clear the person's driving record, making them eligible to renew their driver's license. A similar program in 2002 resulted in 10,000 closed cases and more than $1.8 million in revenue to the state.

Municipal courts participating in the program include Bonney Lake, Buckley, Eatonville, Fife, Fircrest, Gig Harbor, Lakewood, Milton, Orting, Puyallup, Roy, Ruston, South Prairie, Steilacoom, Sumner, Tacoma, Olympia, Rainier, Tenino, Tumwater, Yelm, Auburn, Des Moines, Federal Way, Kent, Pacific and SeaTac. Pierce, King and Thurston county district courts also are participating.

Click here for more information on the program.

It never takes long ... Watch out for swine flu-related scams, the Better Business Bureau warns.

Here's the press release.

DuPont, WA – April 29, 2009 – Relying on reports from online security experts, Better Business Bureau is warning consumers to be on the lookout for fraudulent emails and Web sites trying to take advantage of the current swine flu outbreak.

"Scammers read newspapers, watch TV and surf the Internet and they know that by using a hook from the day's top headlines, that they'll be able to catch lots of fish," said Robert W.G. Andrew, CEO of BBB serving Alaska, Oregon, and Western Washington. "Right now, issues associated with swine flu and a potential pandemic are of global interest and that means scammers have a very large pond to go phishing in."

According to McAfee Avert Labs, an online security company, spammers began pumping out e-mails as soon as the first accounts of swine flu were being reported in the news, accounting for two percent of all spam messages. The messages include such subject lines as, "Madonna caught swine flu!" and "Swine flu in Hollywood!" The company reports that the e-mails do not contain malware but often link to online pharmacies.

According to F-Secure Corp., another online security company, more than 250 Web sites with the term "swine flu" have been registered within the first few days following the announcement of the outbreak and predict that the scams artists are preparing to use such Web sites in a variety of different online scams. F-Secure also reports that one Web site is already selling a "Swine Flu Survival Guide" PDF for $19.95.

BBB offers the following advice to avoid swine flu scams:

Avoid opening e-mail from an unknown source and do not click on any links in the body of the e-mail or open any attachments. Instead, delete the e-mail or report it to the Federal Trade Commission by forwarding the e-mail to spam@uce.gov.

Don't believe online offers for vaccinations against swine flu because a vaccine does not exist.

Consumers are encouraged to check their state's Department of Health Web sites for updates and further information concerning this issue:
Federal: www.cdc.gov/swineflu
Washington: www.doh.wa.gov/swineflu

Make sure your anti-virus and anti-spyware software is up to date and all operating system security patches have been installed. If your computer becomes infected as the result of a spam e-mail about swine flu, you can report it to the Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.</blockquote>

Auburn police were investigating what led up to a deadly confrontation in an alley this morning.

Officers responded the alley near Fifth and F Street Southeast about 11:10 a.m. and found a 29-year-old man dead after he was shot in the chest, police reported.

Arriving officers found and arrested the suspected gunman, a 19-year-old Pacific man.

Investigators believe the men were involved in a confrontation when the younger man fired several shots at the victim.

No other information was released about the incident.

The investigation was continuing today into Monday night's deadly deputy-involved shooting at a Parkland home.

Two Pierce County sheriff's deputies responded to the home in the 800 block of 111th Street South after a woman called 911 shortly before 10 p.m. to report her husband was drinking and screaming at her and her mother.

The woman's 57-year-old husband saw the deputies, went to the garage and returned with a gun, the Sheriff's Department reported. Investigators later discovered the gun was loaded and had a round in the chamber.

The deputies asked the man to drop his weapon. The man didn't and when he started to raise the pistol, one of the deputies opened fire, Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said.

The situation unfolded very quickly.

"Within three minutes, they were calling for medical aid," Troyer said.

Paramedics transported the man to St. Joseph Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

The Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office planned to do an autopsy on the man today. His name has not been released.

The two deputies were put on paid administrative leave, which is standard procedure any time a deputy uses deadly force. Their names and ages have not yet been released.

Troyer said all indications were the man committed "suicide by cop." He refused to drop a loaded gun, then raised it at the deputies.

"Any reasonable person knows that will get them shot," Troyer said today.

In addition to the criminal detectives, the Pierce County Prosecutor's Office responded to the scene. The office does its own investigations of deadly officer-involved shooting to see whether a crime occurred or if the officer's actions were compliant with state law.

The deputies' actions also will be investigated by the Sheriff's Department internal affairs division to see if they followed the agency's policies and procedures.

Flames shoot up from a house in Kent. Kent Fire photo.

A kitchen fire sent flames and smoke shooting into the sky of a Kent neighborhood Monday night.

Kent and Renton Fire Department crews were called to a house in the 10200 block of Southeast 228th Street in Kent at about 8 p.m. Residents told 911 that a fire started on the stove and was spreading up a wall. By the time crews arrived, flames had reached 10 feet in the air from the back of the house, and residents were already outside.

Officers were able to put the fire out in about 20 minutes. The house was heavily damaged, and residents are staying with family. No injuries were reported.

Officers stand next to the still-idling cars of two officers involved in a shooting at a house in Parkland. Brian Everstine/The News Tribune

Two Pierce County Sheriff deputies responded to a domestic dispute at a quiet, well-kept house in Parkland.

Within three minutes, one deputy had fired two shots, killing a man who pointed a loaded .45-caliber handgun at the officers. The other covered the man's wife and mother in law.

"The guy didn't give our guys a chance to calm him down," he said.

At about 10 p.m. Monday night, a woman called 911 reporting her husband, who was on probation, was drinking and screaming at her and her mother. Two officers parked in front of the house, at 855 111th Street South, came in the front door and had no chance to calm the situation, Troyer said.

Once the man saw the officers, he went into the garage and came out with his weapon. A round was in the chamber, and he pointed it at the officers. After repeatedly asking him to put it down, one officer opened fire, Troyer said. The officers acted how they are trained to, he said.

The man, 57, was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital and was pronounced dead. Officers are talking to the family and trying to figure out what caused the dispute.

The two officers have been put on administrative leave, which is standard procedure. The deputy who fired the shots has been on the job for only two years.

Officers were investigating at the house late Monday. The original deputies cars were still parked in front, lights still on. Neighbors stood at their chain-link fences, discussing what happened.

"We wish it made sense, but sometimes things just don't make sense," Troyer said.

Fire crews had to call in extra help Monday afternoon to fight a garage fire in Auburn.

Valley Regional Fire Authority crews arrived to a fully involved garage fire at about 5:15 p.m. in the 31400 block of 117th Place Southeast. All occupants of teh attached house were able to escape uninjured. But the fire spread into an attic, and crews called for a second alarm.

Eventually crews from Kent, South King Fire & Rescue and Mountain View Fire & Rescue assisted. The fire is under control, but crews expect to be on scene the rest of the night.

No cause or damage estimate has been released.

Federal prosecutors contend two men bought OxyContin pills from the sick and dying in California then sold them for profit in the Puget Sound area, including Tacoma.

On Friday, prosecutors charged Michael Keith Flowers and Thomas James Mitchell with one count each of conspiracy to distribute oxycodone.

According to court documents, Flowers and Mitchell work as care-givers in the Los Angeles area, catering mostly to sufferers of HIV and cancer. Many of their patients had legitimate prescriptions for OxyContin, a brand-name drug containing the powerful pain-reliever oxycodone.

Federal prosecutors contend the men would buy OxyContin pills from their clients for $10 to $15 per pill then sell them to Washington drug dealers for about $30 per pill.

Mitchell was arrested in January in Seattle after federal agents learned what he was doing and set up a buy using a confidential informant.

Mitchell agreed to cooperate and told federal agents he and Flowers traveled to the Puget Sound region about twice a month for the past year. They sold thousands of OxyContin pills here each time they came, court documents state.

The business apparently was lucrative.

Mitchell took a limousine from Sea-Tac Airport to his downtown Seattle hotel during his last trip north, and federal authorities say Flowers was driving a leased Mercedes Benz S550 at the time of his arrest.

The family of Joseph Tarricone, killed and dismembered near Summit in 1978, filed a wrongful-death lawsuit today in Pierce County Superior Court against the brother and sister convicted of murdering him.

Gypsy Gonzalez-Tarricone, the victim's daughter filed the suit on behalf of herself and her father's estate.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for "tremendous pain and suffering, fear of death, economic loss and other general and special damages."

Nicholas Notaro and Renee Curtiss both were convicted earlier this year and sentenced to life in prison for shooting Tarricone, dismembering his body and burying it in a yard. His remains lay undiscovered for nearly 30 years before a construction crew unearthed them.

Prosecutors contended Curtiss, who is married to Seattle bailbondsman, convinced her brother to kill Tarricone because she'd grown tired of his romantic advances.

Tacoma police and Lakewood police officers appear to have two in custody after a bank robbery on the Hilltop just minutes ago, according to the police scanner.

It appears two have been arrested. One person was arrested at gunpoint after fleeing a felony traffic stop, according to the scanner.

The Key Bank at 1120 S. 11th St. was robbed.

I'll post more information as it becomes available.

UPDATE: I don't have too much more but here's a few things.

Two men were taken into custody. All the money stolen from the bank was recovered, Tacoma police spokesman Mark Fulghum said.

Detectives believe one of the men is the same person who robbed the same bank last month.

UPDATE 2: Both men have now been booked on suspicion of first-degree robbery.

The Washington State Patrol will be pursuing vehicular assault charges after speed and alcohol were suspected in a crash early Sunday injured two.

The agency reports a Jeep Cherokee and Chevy Camaro were going north on Highway 7 about 3:15 a.m. The Cherokee left the roadway to the right, striking a rock wall. The vehicle rolled onto its top.

The Camaro struck the Jeep, causing it to spin.

The 19-year-old Tacoma man driving the Jeep was injured and treated at the scene. Paramedics transported his 17-year-old passenger to Tacoma General Hospital for treatment of his injuries, troopers reported.

The Camaro's driver - a 20-year-old Puyallup man - was not injured.

The crash was under investigation.

Brian was able to catch up and report on this incident Sunday. Here's what appears in today's paper:

Five people were arrested Saturday afternoon after a 90-minute standoff on South Seventh Street.

A homeowner arrived to find neighbors had broken into the home at about 2 p.m. At least two were in the house, and others were in the yard, police spokesman Mark Fulghum said. The suspected burglars ran next door and refused to come out.

The Tacoma police tactical team cleared the area, and eventually, the people inside the neighboring house surrendered without incident.

All five were booked into the Pierce County Jail on Saturday night. Two were arrested on suspicion of residential burglary, and the others on charges including trespassing and outstanding warrants.

This happened near the intersection of South Seventh and Junett streets.

The Washington State Patrol has released information about a man who jumped from the Tacoma Narrows Bridge last week.

The Tacoma man was spotted just after 7 a.m. Friday sitting on the railing of westbound Highway 16 on the bridge.

He was later found in the water by the crew of the Tacoma police boat.

The latest from Tacoma police spokesman Mark Fulghum:

The missing child, john york jr, has been located. Patrol officers from tacoma located the child and the babysitter in downtown tacoma. Both appear to be fine and are being taken to police headquarters.

Here's a 4 p.m. update:

The boyfriend, Willard Sisco has been contacted and interviewed by detectives. He told detectives he and Cheri Weber are no longer together and he has not been with her lately. He provided some info about a possible location for her and detectives followed up on the info with negative results. Detectives have been conducting interviews and following up on leads throughout the day.

Residents in Lakewood are invited to learn more about disaster preparedness today.

Lakewood firefighters, police officers and members of the Lakewood YMCA will host the annual "Disaster Preparedness Day" from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the YMCA, 9715 Lakewood Dr. S.W.

Residents can:

• Learn how to assemble a disaster kit
• Learn about Lakewood’s Community Emergency Response Team
• Learn what to do when power lines are down
• See CPR demonstrations
• Learn about the 9-1-1 system in a major emergency

The local American Red Cross and Pierce County Department of Emergency Management will be on hand. The police department will be raffling off a disaster preparedness kit.

"The first 100 families will receive some supplies to start a disaster kit of their own," the fire department reported.

Tacoma Police are searching for a 17-month-old boy who was left with a babysitter 10 days ago, and hasn’t been returned to his mother.

The boy, John K. York Jr., has blond hair and blue eyes. He was last seen at 2 p.m. Thursday near the University of Puget Sound fieldhouse along North 11th Street in Tacoma, police say. He was seen with Cherie Weber, 36 (the babysitter), and her boyfriend, Willard Sisco, 38. Here are their pictures - watch out for low quality.

The circumstances surrounding the boy’s disappearance are fuzzy. The mother and Weber have known each other for three to four years, police spokesman Mark Fulghum said. Weber has watched the boy before.

The mother willingly let the boy stay with Weber for several days starting April 15, Originally, the mother had planned to pick up the boy after one day, but Weber said she was tied up with a church activity; the two women agreed to wait a day for a planned pick-up.

According to Fulghum, the mother allowed the child to stay for several more days, and checked with the babysitter by phone. She saw the boy on Saturday, April 18, but did not pick him up.

By mid-week, the mother couldn’t reach the babysitter on the phone, Fulghum said. At that point, she called police, who began to search. As of late Friday, they hadn’t found Weber or Sisco.

Police are asking residents to call 253-798-4722 with information.

Residents in Tacoma's Edison neighborhood will be out spring cleaning their streets and yards this weekend.

It's the fourth annual clean up for the neighborhood.

Edison is one of the city's community-based services areas. The neighborhood is defined as from South 56th to South 66th streets and from Oakes to Washington streets.

The clean up is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Homeowners are encouraged to get rid of their junk and beautify their property, according to a city press release.

Residents can take their garage to the parking lot of Edison Elementary School, 5830 S. Pine St. The debris will be taken away for free as long as residents provide a proof of residence such as a driver's license or current utility bill.

Some items cannot be dumped. Those include: "material from a business; cars, motorcycles, campers or boat parts; truck canopies, trailers, boats or RV vehicles; daily household garbage; liquids, paints and other oil-based products; hazardous waste; riding mowers; and animal carcasses," the city reported.

Employees from Tacoma Goodwill will be on hand to accept gently used items.

Pierce County Superior Court Judge Ronald Culpepper on Friday sentenced a Graham-area woman convicted of mistreating her 10-year-old son to 10 months in jail.

Sara Laurene Weston Klug, 30, pleaded guilty last year to one count of second-degree criminal mistreatment of a child.

Prosecutors contended she and her husband, Clint Thomas Klug, forced the boy, now 11, to sleep in a garage without heat or blankets. They also accused Klug – the boy's stepfather – of physically abusing the boy.

The couple was arrested and charged in June 2008. Sara Klug agreed to testify against her husband as part of her plea deal.

Clint Klug, 36, pleaded guilty last month to one count of second-degree assault of a child and was sentenced April 17 to serve between five and 10 years in prison.

Before you flood my inbox with e-mails asking "What was that?" here's what was going on this afternoon at South 48th Street and Yakima Avenue.

A man walked into the 710 Store near the intersection of South 48th and Yakima Avenue just before 2 p.m. today, Tacoma police spokesman Mark Fulghum said.

The man was armed with a knife. He tried to rob the clerk but she fought back, Fulghum said. The two struggled over the knife and eventually, the clerk was able to get a hold of the weapon.

During the struggle, a customer came into the store and saw the commotion. The customer yelled at the man and called 911 to report what was happening, Fulghum said.

The suspect ran off and hid in a nearby yard. Several officers responded to the scene.

With the help of a neighbor, officers located the suspect.

"He was uncooperative," Fulghum said.

The officers had to use the Tasers on the man to get him into custody. He was taken to a local hospital to be checked out, then was going to be booked into Pierce County Jail on the attempted robbery and other charges.

Paramedics responded to the scene to treat the clerk for a minor cut, Fulghum said.

While searching for the suspect, officers stopped a blue car that had been seen speeding away from the store. Officers determined the occupants were not involved in the attempted robbery, Fulghum said.

State labor regulators and Tacoma Goodwill Industries have settled the company’s appeal of a nearly $50,000 fine stemming from the death of a developmentally disabled worker just over a year ago.

Goodwill will now have to pay $13,300 for three violations related to the implementation of its accident prevention program, record keeping and the safety features of its box tipping machines, the nonprofit announced Friday. The company was initially cited with nine deficiencies.

On April 15 last year, Nick Miller (pictured here), a 27-year-old with cognitive abilities of a 10-year-old in some areas, was crushed under a hydraulic tipper on Goodwill’s loading dock. The circumstances surrounding his death remain unclear.

Immediately after the accident, Goodwill undertook voluntary safety improvements, including placing lock-out devices on its tipper machines.

“There was a lot of very intense discussion,” Department of Labor & Industries spokeswoman Elaine Fischer said. “In the end we did make some adjustments.”

Goodwill CEO Terry A. Hayes said a statement that the company maintains its commitment to "exceed the spirit and intent of state safety standards."

At the time, Hayes had objected to many of the penalties saying the “facts don’t fit the findings.” She noted Goodwill had collaborated with the Department of Labor & Industries on previous violations and followed their recommendations in areas they were subsequently accused of violating.

The agency’s case file on the death, which ran more than 1,500 pages, showed Goodwill bosses were confused about Miller’s duties, The News Tribune reported in December. Some told L&I Miller was never authorized to operate the tipper while others, backed up by training records, said it was part of his regular duties.

The attorney for Miller’s family could not be reached Friday afternoon.

“We’ve accomplished our goal of a safer workplace with this settlement,” Steve Cant, assistant director for L&I’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health, said in a joint press statement with Goodwill on Friday.

Miller’s loss was still deeply felt by employees of the company, Hayes said.

Pierce County prosecutors have charged a 48-year-old man suspected of robbing - or trying to rob - two pharmacies while threatening employees with a fake bomb.

Drew John Tostenson was arraigned on the five charges - first-degree robbery, two counts of attempted first-degree robbery and two counts of threatening to bomb or injure - this afternoon. He pleaded not guilty and the Department of Assigned Counsel was appointed to represent him.

Prosecutors asked that Tostenson be held in Pierce County Jail in lieu of $200,000 bail. Pierce County Superior Court Judge John McCarthy granted the request.

Pierce County sheriff's deputies arrested Tostenson on Thursday night outside Kirk's Pharmacy on South Hill. An alert citizen spotted Tostenson sitting in a van and recognized him from a Pierce County Crime Stoppers flier containing information and surveillance images from two other pharmacy robberies.

Deputies took Tostenson into custody without incident. He wore a disguise and had a robbery note and handgun with him. Investigators suspect he was about to rob Kirk's Pharmacy again.

Prosecutors allege Tostenson robbed that pharmacy April 13 and tried to rob the Medicine Shoppe in Puyallup on Monday. In both cases, the robber demanded Oxycontin and carried a bag that he claimed contained explosives. The robber didn't get any Oxycontin at the Medicine Shoppe because the pharmacy doesn't carry the addictive prescription drug.

Lake Tapps pilot Weldon Marc Gilbert, who pleaded guilty Thursday to federal child-sex crimes, also will plead guilty to state charges as part of his plea deal with federal prosecutors.

The U.S. Attorney's Office announced that part of the deal in a news release issued today.

Gilbert is charged with nine crimes in Pierce County Superior Court, including child rape, child molestation and sexual exploitation of a minor.

Gilbert (seen here) will serve both sentences at the same time. Federal prosecutors intend to ask for 25 years in prison at his sentencing hearing Aug. 17.

Federal prosecutors also announced today that they will work to ensure that proceeds from the sale of property seized from Gilbert – including a boat, helicopter and float plane – are used to compensate his victims.

According to court records, Gilbert sexually abused 17 boys over several years. Evidence, including videotapes found at his house, indicates he paddled many of the boys and touched them sexually.

UPDATE: Pierce County will seek Gilbert's guilty plea to "multiple offenses, the most serious of which will be child molestation in the first degree," according to a memorandum from Pierce County deputy prosecutor Patrick Hammond to assistant U.S. Attorney Roger Rogoff.

Pierce County will not seek to convict Gilbert of child rape, Hammond added.

Pierce County will recommend a sentence of 198 months in prison to run concurrently with his federal sentence, according to Hammond's memo.

"The amended information filed in state court as part of this plea agreement will contemplate all of the known victims who have come to light in the course of the investigation and prosecution of Mr. Gilbert, for whom the statute of limitations has not already run," the memo states.

Prosecutors have filed charges against one of two men suspected of robbing four teenage girls in Parkland earlier this month.

The other suspect, who was arrested by the Pierce County Sheriff's Department's SWAT team, is scheduled to appear in court this afternoon in connection with the robberies.

Prosecutors charged Derrick Jeremaine Long, 20, Thursday with three counts of first-degree robbery. He was arraigned and remains in Pierce County Jail in lieu of $25,000 bail today.

Court documents provide the following information:

Three girls told Pierce County sheriff's deputies they were robbed while walking along Park Avenue South on April 10.

One girl and a friend were going back to the girl's home after a trip to the convenience store. They passed a building on Park Avenue South and were confronted by two young men who demanded their money and purses.

The girl said one of the robbers had a gun and "she heard it make a 'click-click' noise," court documents state.

The robbers took the girl's purse and cellphone and her friend's purse. (Deputies were not able to locate the friend for a statement.)

The girl told the robbers they were with friends who were walking ahead of and behind them.

The robbers ordered the girl and her friend to hide in the bushes. The girls followed orders.

The suspects robbed another two girls. One of those victims told deputies she'd been walking with her friend when a man confronted them and demanded her purse. He pointed a gun at her and used it to poke her in the face.

The girl handed over her purse and the suspect fled. The girl told deputies the robber had a red bandana over his face.

The other girl told deputies the man also pointed the gun at her head. She told deputies about another man wearing glasses who was standing nearby. He didn't say anything but fled with the gunman.

A witness told deputies he'd been outside a store prior to the robberies and had seen the men, who were looking to buy marijuana. The witness provided deputies with a street name for one of the suspects.

Two Pierce County sheriff's detectives stopped a car last week in the 11000 block of Park Avenue South. The driver was later identified as Long. Another man was in the passenger seat and wore a red bandana as a belt. He identified himself as a gang member and told deputies his moniker, which was the same name as the witness provided.

One victim picked Long out of a photo montage.

Deputies arrested Long earlier this week at Tacoma Community College. He confessed to the robberies and told detectives the other robber was armed with a bb gun.

UPDATE: Charges have now been filed against the second suspect.

Solomona Reupena, 17, was charged today with two counts of first-degree robbery and two counts of attempted first-degree robbery.

A Pierce County judge sentenced a 55-year-old woman to life in prison this morning for her role in the shooting to death a man who'd been courting her more than 30 years ago.

A jury convicted Renee Curtiss of first-degree murder in the death of Joseph Tarricone. Tarricone, 53, was shot in the back of the head and dismembered in 1978. His body was buried in the yard of a house in Summit. A construction crew unearthed the remains in 2007 while clearing the lot for a strip mall.

Pierce County Superior Court Judge Kitty-Ann van Doorninck had no choice but to sentence Curtiss to life in prison, the punishment prescribed for a first-degree murder conviction in 1978, when the crime was committed. The law since has been rewritten, making the sentence for first-degree murder from 20 years to life in prison.

Curtiss' brother, 60-year-old Nicholas Notaro, was sentenced to life in prison earlier this month after a jury convicted him of first-degree murder. Prosecutors had contended Notaro shot Tarricone at the request of Curtiss, who'd grown tired of Tarricone's romantic advances.

Curtiss had dated the victim for a time when they both lived in Alaska.

Today is National SIDS Awareness Day and the King County Sheriff's Office is marking the occasion with the launch of a new program - Cribs for Kids - that is aimed at helping needy families with infants who don't have a crib to sleep in.

The program will be announced during a press conference this morning at the Sheriff's Office. As part of the event, King County Councilmember Kathy Lambert will read a proclamation from the Council, declaring it SIDS Awareness Day.

The Sheriff's Office and SIDS Foundation of Washington are pairing up to provide free, portable cribs "to parents who have babies sleeping in an environment that could lead to a SIDS death or accidental suffocation," the office reported.

Here's how the program will work: When a deputy comes across an infant who is sleeping on a couch, regular bed, cluttered surface or with a family member, the deputy will notify the department's Community Service Officer. Officer Scott Dungan will contact the family and offer to provide a free crib. The offer includes set up and counseling about safe sleeping habits for babies.

"While this program has been implemented in other parts of the country, the Sheriff's Office is the first law enforcement agency in the Northwest to take part," the agency reported in a press release.

Here's a little more from the press release:

Infants who sleep in an unsafe environment (including adult beds) face at least a 40% greater chance of dying. In one study in Allegany County (PA.), it was determined that 90% of the infant deaths attributed to SIDS died in places other than a properly assembled and maintained crib.

Local leaders will slip into women's shoes today in Tacoma to raise money for the Sexual Assault Center of Pierce County.

The "Walk a Mile in Her Shoes" fundraiser begins at 11:30 a.m. in the Mount Tahoma Auditorium at the Washington State History Museum. The walking will commence around noon. We hear Pierce County Executive Pat McCarthy, Attorney General Rob McKenna and TV personality Tony Ventrella will be participating. (The center's Web site has slideshows of the event from the last two years.)

Meanwhile, up the hill a few blocks, the Crystal Judson Family Justice Center will host a bbq lunch for county employees. This also is a fundraising event.

The center, which opened in December 2005, is named after Crystal Judson Brame. The mother of two was killed by her husband, then-Tacoma Police Chief David Brame, on April 26, 2003. Brame then killed himself.

The center is located at 718 Court E in Tacoma and is open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Mondays through Fridays.

Don't be alarmed if you see a number of emergency vehicles outside Parkland's Washington High School this morning.

It's only a drill. The vehicles, first responders and SWAT team are there for an active shooter training exercise.

The Franklin Pierce School District is teaming up with the Pierce County Sheriff's Department SWAT team and Central Pierce Fire & Rescue for the emergency response exercise, the school district reported.

At an unspecified time, the school will go into lockdown and emergency responders will head to the campus for the training exercise. Nearby residents might hear loud noises and see emergency vehicles. Observers will be on hand to "grade" the response, the school reported.

The goal of the exercise is to "test the coordination, communication and cooperation between the Franklin Pierce District, emergency management and first responders," according to a brochure posted on the School District's Web site.

Thirty to 50 students will be participating in the exercise.

Police activity is blocking the right lane of westbound Highway 16 on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, the state Department of Transportation reports.

The activity began about 7:15 a.m., the agency reported at 7:30 a.m.

UPDATE as of 8:20 a.m.: This situation has been resolved and the right lane has been reopened to traffic.

A multiple-vehicle crash is blocking the two left lanes of southbound Interstate 5 near the 56th Street overpass in Tacoma, the state DOT reported.

A semi-truck was involved in the crash just before 2 p.m. Firefighters and paramedics are on the scene. Troopers were on their way.

Traffic is getting by using the two right lanes. Drivers should expect delays.

The state Liquor Control Board cited 11 Tacoma businesses for selling alcohol to a minor during a round of compliance checks last week.

Two teams of officers from the board and the Tacoma Police Department conducted the checks Friday at 49 businesses, all of which sell or serve alcohol, according to a press release from the state Liquor Control Board.

Employees are 11 businesses were cited for selling or serving alcohol to underage minors. Those minors (called "investigative aides") are between 18 and 20 years old.

"They must present their true identification if asked by a clerk," the board reported. "However, they may attempt to be evasive if asked their age but not asked for their I.D."

These are the 11 businesses caught selling alcohol to a minor:

First Market, 2051 S. 96th St. Ste. 7
Smoke & Gifts, 9027 Pacific Ave. S. No. 3
Country Boy Market, 5522 McKinley Ave. E.
Brass Lantern, 4034 McKinley Ave.
El Compadre, 4002 McKinley Ave. Ste. A
Station 56, 5602 S. Washington St.
54th Sports Bar, 5415 S. Tacoma Way
Pyramid Gold Mini Mart, 1440 Puyallup Ave.
Valley Pub, 1206 Puyallup Ave.
Major Petroleum B.P., 1302 Puyallup Ave.
Alfred’s Cafe, 402 Puyallup Ave.

Here are the businesses that did not sell alcohol to minors:

7-Eleven, 9517 Steele St. S.
7-Eleven, 9450 Pacific Ave.
Black Stone Mini Market, 8247 Pacific Ave. S
Gloria’s Bar & Grill, 8201 Pacific Ave.
Fred Meyer No. 385, 7250 Pacific Ave.
Rite Aid No. 5271, 7041 Pacific Ave.
Pacific Grocery & Deli, 6329 Pacific Ave.
PK Gasoline and Deli, 716 E. 64th St.
K & J Mart, 6405 McKinley Ave. E.
Rudy’s Restaurant & Lounge, 6324 McKinley Ave.
White Spot Tavern, 6310 McKinley Ave.
El Milagrito, 5606 E. Portland Ave. Ste. C
Parky’s Tavern, 3551 McKinley Ave.
7-Eleven, 3848 McKinley Ave.
Top of Tacoma Bar & Cafe, 3529 McKinley Ave.
Albertson’s No. 498, 111 S. 38th St.
PAC 40 Lounge & Restaurant, 3850 Pacific Ave.
Unicorn Sports Bar, 5302 N. 49th St.
Red Bulls Bar & Grill, 1214 Puyallup Ave.
Porter’s BBQ, 2615 E. N St.
Pegasus, 1320 Puyallup Ave.
The New Frontier, 301 E. 25th St.
McCabe’s American Music Cafe, 2611 Pacific Ave.
The Melting Pot, 2121 Pacific Ave.
I Street Market, 721 South I St.
Main Street Grocery, 901 Martin Luther King Jr. Way
1022 South, 1022 S. J St.
Stop N Mart, 1501 Martin Luther King Jr. Way
Checker’s II/Spirit, 2301 S. 12th St.
E-Z Food Store, 2728 S. 12th St.
Handy Mart Grocery-Deli, 402 Tacoma Ave. S.
King’s Deli & Grocery, 326 Tacoma Ave. S.
Hell’s Kitchen, 3829 6th Ave.
Grandy’s Country Cobbler, 1602 S. Mildred
T C Deli & Grocery, 6701 S. 12th St.
Imperial Dragon Restaurant, 6805 6th Ave.
State Liquor Store No. 063, 5031 N. Pearl Street
Contract Liquor Store No. 571, 6805 6th Ave.

The Liquor Control Board and local authorities conduct regular compliance checks. The agency issues administrative violation notices to businesses that fail compliance checks.

Tacoma police have arrested a 19-year-old man in connection with two home burglaries and he's being investigated for others in Bellevue, Mercer Island and Renton.

Prosecutors charged Jordan Wilson Lee with eight crimes Wednesday - two counts of first-degree theft and one count each of first-degree burglary, residential burglary, second-degree theft, theft of a firearm, second-degree malicious mischief and first-degree trafficking in stolen property. He was arraigned Wednesday and ordered held in Pierce County Jail in lieu of $75,000 bail.

Court documents provide the following information:

A Tacoma man came home Feb. 18 and found he had been burglarized. The burglar stole more than $2,500 worth of property, including a 9mm Ruger pistol and a platinum VISA card, and then left the back sliding door and door to the basement open. A woman living at the house later got a call from her credit card company saying that the VISA had been used to buy food. Someone also had tried to withdraw $200 from the ATM.

Earlier this month, the man returned home to find it had again been burglarized. This time, more than $3,500 worth of property had been stolen, including a flat panel TV and iMac computer. The victim, who was very upset, told officers the computer had been chained to the leg of a table. The computer and table leg were gone. The burglar also broke a window, causing $800 in damage.

Seven days later, the burglary victim spotted his computer being sold on Craigslist.

"Posing as a buyer, he had convinced the posting party to send additional photos of the computer," court documents state. "(The victim) was able to determine that the computer was his based on the customized desktop on the computer as well as its appearance and peripherals."

The seller's e-mail was listed as leeups@hotmail.com.

The victim contacted Tacoma police detectives, who obtained a search warrant for Lee's home. They served the warrant Tuesday and found "a bundle of stolen loot in the defendant's bedroom and home," court documents state.

Investigators also discovered several flat panel TVs and the Tacoma man's 9mm Ruger. A credit card stolen in a burglary at a Mercer Island home was located.

Lee initially told officers he'd purchased the stolen items on Craigslist. He later admitted to the two Tacoma burglaries and others in Mercer Island, Renton and Bellevue. (Reports on those crimes will be forwarded to the King County Prosecutor's Office for a charge decision.)

Lee told officers he would conduct surveillance on the homes he broke into.

"He said he enjoyed driving by the residences after he had broken into the homes to watch the upset homeowners reporting the burglaries after they were discovered," court documents state.

You don't want to mess with this guy ...

An 85-year-old man stopped to render aid at what appeared to be an accident scene in the 1900 block of South Proctor Street about 9 p.m. Wednesday, Tacoma police reported.

One of the two men involved in the accident punched the 85-year-old man in the face and demanded his car keys.

The older man got out of his car, held onto his key and kicked one of the men in the groin, police reported.

The suspects fled.

Officers found them a short distance away. The men were arrested on suspicion of robbery.

Crews are on the scene of a car fire on the shoulder of southbound Interstate 5.

A lane is blocked and smoke is pouring over the highway, slowing traffic near highway 16. No injuries have been reported, according to scanner chatter.

DOT photo.

Dan sent in this "What was that?" today:

Just curious what was going on yesterday afternoon at 72nd St and Pacific avenue. It appeared the Tacoma police either removed an individual from a city bus or arrested him as he got off. From the number of people that had cell phone cameras going, someone must have taken pictures. Within 3 minutes of the time the first officers had the individual down and cuffed at least 4 more cars responded.

Maybe you saw the activity too.

I forwarded the e-mail to Tacoma Police Department spokesman Mark Fulghum, who reported:

We received calls just after 4:00PM reporting an adult male jumping in and out of traffic in the area of 72nd and Pacific. The subject appeared high/intoxicated and was jumping in front of cars and weaving in and out of traffic. He stood right in front of a bus and was messing with it. He was arrested and booked on a number of charges.

Puyallup police need the public's help to identify a man suspected of robbing a pharmacy last weekend.

The department and Tacoma-Pierce County Crime Stoppers released information about the robbery and surveillance images of the suspect today.

Police officials report the man entered the Rite Aid, 1323 E. Main Ave., just after 5:10 p.m. Sunday. He placed several items into a shopping basket and then walked to the pharmacy counter.

The robber handed the pharmacist a note that indicated he had a weapon and demanded Oxycontin. The man took the drugs and fled, police reported.

Witnesses described the robber as Hispanic, 20 to 25 years old and 6 feet tall with a heavy build. He had several tattoos on his arms, police reported.

The robber wore a white T-shirt, white baseball hat and baggy pants.

Crime Stoppers is offering up to $1,000 for information leading to the pharmacy robber's arrest and charges filed in the case. Tipsters may remain anonymous.

Reach Crime Stoppers at 253-591-5959.

Pierce County law enforcement investigators are trying to identify a man believed to have made bomb threats while robbing two pharmacies in recent days.

They released surveillance images of the suspect today in hopes someone recognizes him and calls authorities.

The first incident was April 13 at Kirk's Pharmacy 11212 Sunrise Blvd. E., on South Hill. The man entered the pharmacy about 11:30 a.m. He carried a bag and handed the pharmacist a note that said the bag contained dynamite. He demanded Oxycontin and then left with the drugs. He left the bag behind.

The bag prompted an evacuation of parts of the medical campus where the pharmacy is located. The Pierce County Sheriff's Department's bomb squad responded and detonated the bag. They discovered the "dynamite" was really road flares held together with tape and a cell phone.

The second incident was Monday at 1:15 p.m. Investigators believe the same man entered the Medicine Shoppe on East Main Avenue in the City of Puyallup. He

The man again carried a bag with what appeared to be explosives and handed an employee a note saying he had explosives, police reported.

The pharmacy didn't have any Oxycontin. The would-be robber took the bag and left, police reported.

Witnesses have described the robber as white, about 25 years old and 5 feet 10 with a medium build.

During the second robbery, he wore a fake beard and mustache, sunglasses, green jacket and beret.

Anyone with information is asked to call Tacoma-Pierce County Crime Stoppers at 253-591-5959. The non-profit organization is offering up to $1,000 for information leading to the man's arrest and charges filed in the case.

Tipsters may remain anonymous.

A child playing with a lighter started a fire Tuesday in a Puyallup apartment and suffered minor burns to his hands, according to a spokesman for Central Pierce Fire & Rescue.

The small child was playing with a lighter and caught his bedding on fire, according to Assistant Fire Chief Matt Holm. He said the child burned his hands attempting to put out the flames. He was taken later to Good Samaritan Hospital by his parents. There were no other injuries.

The fire erupted shortly after 5 p.m. at the Stillwater Apartments, 933 9th Street SE.

Firefighters arrived to find heavy smoke and flames coming from the second story apartment. Firefighters were able to bring the fire under control within 20 minutes, but not before the fire did an estimated $120,000 in damage to the building and $20,000 damage to contents, Holm said.

The residents, a 43-year-old man, his niece and his two children, escaped the apartment and were not injured. Red Cross was called to assist with housing and essentials for the families.

Four people were able to escape an apartment fire in Puyallup on Tuesday afternoon.

Matt Holm, spokesman for Central Pierce Fire & Rescue, said a fire broke out at the Stillwater Apartments, 933 9th Street SE. One fire unit was able to put out most of the fire, Holm said.

The residents, a 43-year-old man, his niece and his two children, were not injured. Crews do not yet know how the fire started and have not said how much damage it caused.

Pierce County Judge Susan Serko signed an order today requiring first-degree murder defendant Jaycee Fuller to provide a DNA sample to Tacoma police detectives.

Fuller is charged with killing cab driver Mohamud Ahmed (seen here) in a robbery March 8.

Police found a stocking cap near Ahmed's body that they believe belongs to his killer.

They developed a DNA profile from a hair discovered inside the hat, and they want to compare it against Fuller's profile.

Serko ordered Fuller to allow detectives to use a swab to collect cells from inside his cheek at a date to be determined.

King County prosecutors are deciding whether to charge a Federal Way woman for allegedly embezzling about $34,000 from three youth sports clubs.

Federal Way police said Tuesday that the woman, who’s the treasurer for the clubs, wrote unauthorized checks, mostly for cash, beginning in July 2007.

The checks drew from funds of the Puget Sound Junior Football League, the Federal Way Junior Football Hawks team and the Federal Way American Little League.

A staff member of one of the organizations told police in February he thought the woman was defrauding the club. During a three-month investigation, police said, officers determined the woman had stolen almost $34,000 from the clubs, almost $18,000 from the Federal Way Junior Hawks alone.

League officials showed police copies of the suspicious checks, which had been signed by the woman.

Police interviewed the woman last week. She said she wrote three checks, totally $10,000, from the clubs because her house was at risk of foreclosure.

Officers did not arrest the woman but sent her case to prosecutors. The News Tribune is not naming her because she has not been charged.

A collision has caused a three and a half mile backup on eastbound highway 512, and even drivers on Interstate 5 southbound are affected..

The state Department of Transportation said a crash happened at 4:55 p.m. near Portland Avenue. The left lane of the highway is blocked.

The delay is long enough to cause problems on Interstate 5 at the highway 512 off ramp. Motorists can expect delays on both highway 512 and I-5, the DOT said.

UPDATE: 5:44 p.m.: All lanes are open.

Investigators have determined that rain-soaked ground caused a children's ride to topple over at the Puyallup Fair last week.

Fair officials said the contributing factor "was determined to be deteriorating soil conditions," according a news release.

Sixteen riders were injured when the Lolli Swing crashed, sending six to local hospitals. All were released the same day with minor injuries.

A state-certified ride inspector presented his findings to the state Department of Labor and Industries, according to a fair news release. Investigators from the U.S. Consumer Protection Safety Commission studied the ride on Sunday.

Investigators determined that both the ride and the ride's operator performed correctly.

The ride was removed from the fair on Sunday, and investigators took it apart to determine a cause. Puyallup Police officers interviewed operators after the crashed and found no signs of impairment. The operators volunteered for drug and alcohol tests.

Representatives from the ride's Italian manufacturer and the ride's operator, Funtastic Rides, Inc., also came to Puyallup to help with the investigation.

"While this is a very isolated incident, Funtastic Rides, Inc. will share the information and findings from this investigation with amusement ride inspectors, operators, and amusement industry trade organizations," a fair news release states. "The investigation, reports and findings will also continue."

An 8-year-old Lacey boy called police Tuesday morning to report that his dad was hitting his mom.

When officers arrived to the house, they found the boy's father on the front porch covered in blood. He allegedly stabbed his wife, who was able to flee to a neighbor's house. She was taken to St. Peter's Hospital and underwent emergency surgery.

Officers said the child's 17-year-old older brother was awakened by the noise of his parent's fighting. He tried to break up the fight, which gave his mother the chance to flee..

The father, 39, was arrested on suspicion of attempted first-degree murder and second-degree attempted assault.

Two appellate court judges have volunteered to hear a few cases in Pierce County Superior Court recently to help ease court congestion caused by an increasing backlog of felony cases and the absence of judges due to illness or legal troubles.

Supreme Court Justice Barbara Madsen helped out last week.

Division II Appeals Court Judge Elaine Houghton heard some cases a week or so ago.

Both judges volunteered to help out, Pierce County Superior Court Judge Ronald Culpepper said.

"They're doing it for free and on their own time," Culpepper said. "We're shorthanded."

Pierce County prosecutors have charged a 45-year-old man with trying to rob a woman who was enjoying her lunch and reading the newspaper in her parked car in the North End last week.

Douglas Wayne Davis remains in Pierce County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail. Prosecutors charged him Friday with attempted first-degree robbery.

Court documents provide the following information:

Shortly before 1 p.m. Thursday, the victim was seated in her car, which was parked in the lot at Vassault Park, 6100 N. 37th St. The woman ate her lunch and read the paper while on a break from work. She told officers a man walked up to her window and said, "Good morning."

The man stared at her, then pointed at her keys and demanded them. At first, the victim thought the man was kidding.

The man then reached into the car, around the ignition and tried to pull out the keys. The woman hit the man and pried away his arm. The man hit the woman in the mouth.

The woman continued to fight off the man as she yelled for help and honked her horn. A resident across the street heard the screams and yelled, "Hey, what's going on over there!"

The man told the resident the woman was OK. "Why is she yelling for help, then?" the resident asked.

The man fled, walking off at a fast clip.

Tacoma police arrived six to seven minutes later and found the victim crying and shaking in her car.

About 10 minutes after the attempted robbery, officers found the suspect in the parking lot of a nearby pharmacy. The woman was taken to the store and positively identified the man as her attacker.

The man denied being involved in an attempted robbery. The man, who has an extensive criminal history, had an outstanding warrant for a DUI. He was booked on the warrant and the new charges.

The trial is underway in the case of State of Washington v. Barry Ford, Terry Nolan, Mike McCreven and Carl L. Smith.

The four men – reputed to be members of an outlaw motorcycle gang – are charged with second-degree murder in the April 2008 death of Dana Beaudine.

Beaudine, 38, died after being beaten and stabbed outside a Spanaway tavern. Authorities reported a dispute of some kind may have preceded the attack.

All four defendants are being tried together, which is making things crowded in Superior Court Judge Brian Tollefson's courtroom.

Lawyers delivered their opening statements today, and witnesses are scheduled to begin testifying this afternoon.

A 21-year-old Pierce County man faces between 22 and 28 years in prison when he's sentenced later this spring for the murder of his roommate.

Mathew Wayne Fillmore pleaded guilty today in Superior Court to one count of first-degree murder in the death of Jerry Shirk.

Shirk (seen here) died May 29, 2008, after being beaten with a baseball bat.

Prosecutors contended Fillmore lured Shirk into a check-forging scheme, then beat him to death when Shirk got nervous about his involvement, according to court records

Shirk, 19, had a learning disability that made it hard for him to live independently, but he was determined to make it on his own, his mother told The News Tribune last year. He washed dishes at a Spanaway restaurant and shared a duplex with Fillmore, whom he'd met at church.

A mother and son came to Tacoma on Monday night to buy a car they found on a popular classified advertising Web site but got attacked with a hammer instead, Tacoma police reported.

The two live in Bellevue. They'd found the 2001 Honda Accord on Craigslist and negotiated to buy the car for $3,600, Tacoma police spokesman Mark Fulghum said.

They agreed to meet the seller just after 10 p.m. Monday in an apartment complex parking lot in the 1700 block of South 84th Street.

When they arrived, they contacted a man they believed was the seller, Fulghum said. They all shook hands and that's when the man pulled out a hammer.

The man hit the 27-year-old son twice and the mother, who is in her 50s, once in the head, Fulghum said.

The son ran, with the attacker following him. Meanwhile, the mother hid.

The son lost the attacker and returned to the parking lot to find his mother, Fulghum said.

Tacoma police were called to the scene. The mother and son were taken to a local hospital for treatment of their injuries.

Fulghum said the attacker didn't get anything from the mother and son. Detectives are investigating the incident as an aggravated assault.

The attacker was described as a black man, 18 to 20 years old, 5 feet 8 and dark baggy clothing. A police dog did a track in the area but did not locate the suspect, Fulghum said.

Forensics officers found the hammer believed to have been used during the assault and collected it for further processing, Fulghum said.

AUBURN, Wash. (AP) — The pilot of a small plane managed to deploy the plane’s parachute and make an emergency landing in the yard of a home east of Auburn, Wash. Authorities say it appears no one was injured.
The pilot had taken off from an airport at Enumclaw on Monday when a bolt came loose and prompted him to take emergency action.

A page to a King County Sheriff spokesman has not been returned.

A Kent teenager was arrested Monday afternoon after an hour long standoff at an apartment complex after witnesses said he had a gun.

Police say a 17-year-old boy argued with neighbors at the Shelcor Apartments, 4th Ave. South at Willis Street. The juvenile reportedly kicked a door, which struck a 4-year-old. The child was treated at the scene.

Witnesses told police the 17-year-old pointed a handgun at them, and then went to the apartment that he shares with his mother. Officers evacuated the apartment building and called for the juvenile to come out of the apartment.

After about an hour, the young man and his mother came out of the apartment and he was arrested. The suspect and his mother said he did not have a gun, and officers could not find a weapon in the apartment.

Pierce County prosecutors have charged a 28-year-old woman with three robberies in Milton in recent weeks.

Jacy Lee Thomson was charged Friday with one count of first-degree robbery and two counts of second-degree robbery.

The documents provided the following information:

The first robbery was April 5 at a fast-food restaurant in the 600 block of East Meridian. Employees reported a woman entered the restaurant, displayed a handgun that she had tucked in her waist and demanded money. The woman fled with an undisclosed amount of cash.

The second robbery was April 6 at a Subway in the 2800 block of Milton Avenue. Employees told officers that a woman entered the restaurant and asked for change. When an employee opened the cash register, the woman reached across the counter, grabbed the till and demanded cash. The woman fled with an undisclosed amount of money.

The third robbery was April 13 at a coffee shop inside a grocery store in the 2800 block of Milton Way. Employees told officers a woman entered the store and asked for charge. When the cash register was opened, the woman grabbed the till and demanded cash. The woman got an undisclosed amount of money and ordered employees to the floor before fleeing.

Officers used surveillance video to find images of the robber. A flier with the surveillance image was distributed to local businesses.

Officers were called to a grocery store in the 900 block of East Meridian on Thursday. An employee thought she one of the customers was the robbery suspect. Officers recognized the woman.

They followed her to her car, then ran the license plate number. Meanwhile, the woman drove away at a high rate of speed. A patrol car stopped the woman.

The woman reportedly confessed to the three robberies and was arrested.

A Pierce County judge today found a former Tacoma elementary school teacher accused of having sex with a student guilty of one count of first-degree kidnapping with sexual motivation, one count of first-degree child molestation and two counts of third-degree child rape.

Jennifer L. Rice, 33, faces more than 25 years in prison when sentenced June 5.

The verdict came at the end of what's called a "stipulated facts" trial. Prosecutors and Rice's defense team agreed to a set of facts in the case, and Superior Court Judge Gary Steiner reviewed them and made a decision.

Rice, now 33, was accused of having sex with a 10-year-old boy she taught at McKinley Elementary School in 2007. Prosecutors also contended she had sex with a 15-year-old boy whose relationship to her hasn't been disclosed.

Steiner found she had engaged in sex with the 10-year-old boy and his 15-year-old brother during the summer of 2007.

Rice remains jailed until her sentencing date.

Shannon Comenout is now in the Pierce County Jail.

The friend of Angela Harrison, who's five children were fatally shot by their father earlier this month, was arrested Sunday by Quinault tribal police.

Comenout has since been driven down to Pierce County. He was booked into the jail at 1:30 a.m.

Comenout had an outstanding warrant for domestic violence-related charges. Those charges are unrelated to the Harrison children slayings.

However, Pierce County sheriff's detectives have been wanting to talk to him about what he knows about a confrontation between Angela Harrison and her husband the night before the five kids were killed.

UPDATE: Pierce County sheriff's detectives interviewed Comenout on Sunday night about what he knew about the slayings and the events leading up to them, sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said.

Investigators are now done with him in regards with the Harrison investigation.

Comenout remains jailed on the $15,000 domestic violence warrant. He'll have to face a Pierce County District Court judge in connection with that case.

A man was cut Sunday night during a confrontation at an East Side gas station, Tacoma police reported.

The victim was sitting in a car at the gas station in the 800 block of East 72nd Street about 9:25 p.m. A 25-year-old man approached the car, opened the door and demanded the victim get out, police reported.

The victim refused and tried to put the vehicle into gear.

The suspect cut the victim's neck slightly, police reported. Paramedics took the victim to a local hospital for treatment.

The victim's injuries were serious but not considered life threatening. The suspect fled. He was described as a light-skinned man with a mustache and goatee. He wore a yellow shirt with horizontal strips and a dark-colored baseball cap, police reported.

UPDATE: The suspect in the stabbing is also connected to an early morning attempted robbery at a pharmacy.

A man matching the description of the stabbing suspect entered the Walgreen's at 56th Street and Pacific Avenue about 12:45 a.m. Monday, Tacoma police report.

He walked around the store and eventually made his way to the pharmacy. He pulled out a knife, showed it to the pharmacist, then held it to his side.

The man demanded Oxycontin. The pharmacist started yelling. Her cries got the attention of other customers and employees inside the store, police reported.

The man fled the store without getting any of the prescription narcotic.

The man is described a light-skinned man in his 20s. He's 5 feet 8 and 155 pounds, with a dark-colored hair and a mustache and goatee, police said. He wore a dark blue baseball cap, light colored blue jeans and a yellow shirt with gray horizontal strips.

A surveillance image of the suspect is expected to be released sometime today.

UPDATE 2: The surveillance images have been released and one is now included here.

Quinault tribal police arrested the friend of Angela Harrison, whose five children were shot and killed earlier this month by their father.

Shannon Comenout, 38, was spotted by officers on the reservation Sunday afternoon, and officers were working to bring him to Pierce County late Sunday night.

Comenout was with Harrison when her husband, 34-year-old James Harrison, found them at an Auburn convenience store the night before the children were killed. He was arrested on a $15,000 warrant for a 2006 alleged domestic violence case that was unrelated to the Harrison family.

In that case, officers believe Comenout grabbed his then girlfriend by the throat during an argument, and slammed her father into a wall when he tried to intervene.

Officers wanted him on both the warrant and for his relationship with the Harrison family, so investigators can confirm the timeline of what happened.

"This is nothing to do with changing what happened," Pierce County Sheriff spokesman Ed Troyer said. "It is more to do with us confirming everybody's timeline and activities leading up to it. There are five dead kids. We need to do them a service so that history will never be able to repeat itself."

Troyer said officers had spoken with Comenout over the phone since the shooting, but that he had not been cooperative. Tribal police reportedly recognized him from a Crime Stoppers flyer and knew he was a regular on the reservation.

Inspectors have removed the Lolly Swing from the Puyallup Fair for more investigation as to why it toppled over Friday afternoon, and fair officials hope the answer will be found by the middle of this week.

“We are still in the waiting game, it will be quite a while for them to go through the whole investigation,” fair spokeswoman Karen LaFlamme said Sunday.

Investigators from the state Department of Labor and Industries and the Puyallup Police Department worked over the weekend at the scene to find what may have caused the accident. Crews removed the children’s ride and now and empty lot remains.

At least six people, one adult and five children, were sent to Pierce County hospitals after the ride toppled over Friday night. LaFlamme said the ride passed a state inspection on Wednesday. But that inspection only looked into the ride’s electrical system, state Labor and Industries spokeswoman Elaine Fischer said. Mechanical inspections would have been done by the ride’s operator, Funtastic Rides Co. of Portland.

The February reports for the Tacoma Police Department's sectors and specialty units are now posted on the department's web site.

Here's a recap from each report:

Sector 1: Officers arrested two juveniles on suspicion of robbing and beating up a transient Feb. 4. Officers found the victim in the 1700 block of South Fawcett Avenue. He reported the attackers beat him up and stole his backpack and cell phone. The two boys were booked into Remann Hall juvenile detention in connection with the robbery.

An apartment manager shot a suspected car prowler in the arm Feb. 6 during a confrontation in the 600 block of South Yakima Avenue. Two suspects had been prowling a vehicle in the apartment complex parking lot when the manager armed himself and confronted them. One of the suspects fled. The other attacked the manager, who shot the suspect in the arm. The suspect was taken to the hospital for non-life threatening injuries.

The community liaison officers found five transient camps in February. They evicted the occupants and had work crews clean up the sites.

Sector 2: Officers recovered two stolen guns during a domestic-related incident. They found one gun in the truck of the dv suspect. The victim of the assault handed over a second stolen gun the suspect had given her to keep in her vehicle. "The handgun was a WSP Beretta which had been stolen in 2000," the department reported.

Sector 3: A juvenile was injured by gunfire while riding in the back of his father's car in the area of South 56th and Tyler streets. Officers reported the two appeared to be innocent victims.

Officers arrested 10 juveniles on suspicion of attacking and robbing another juvenile who was walking to school.

Officers found five transient camps in the Wapato Hills area. The transients were evicted and the camps cleaned up.

Sector 4: The CLOs held a Tow Day in late February. They placed warnings on 55 vehicles, warning the owners the vehicles needed to be moved in a week or be towed at the owner's expense. The following week, officers found that most of the vehicles had been moved. Only nine remained. Those were impounded.

Gang unit: Officers in the unit made 43 arrests in February and booked those people into jail on 94 charges. Of those, 29 were gang related, four were gun related and 21 were drug related. Nine of the people arrested were on active DOC supervision. Officers seized one vehicle and $4,280 in cash.

K-9 unit: The police dogs conducted 25 tracks and made one evidence find. They made four felony arrests and assisted with 25 other arrests.

Traffic unit: Officers issued 1,680 violations from the city's nine red light cameras. The traffic officers wrote 762 citations citywide and made 19 drunken driving arrests. For February, drivers in Sector 1 received the most citations with 262 of the 762 tickets written.

Marine Services Unit: Members of this unit completed five vessel safety inspections, conducted 66 visual safety inspections, handled three complaints of water activity and assisted in one boater rescue.

A resident of a Tacoma clean and sober house stabbed three roommates Saturday night, at least one in the throat.

Residents say the man, who had moved into the Fresh Start House earlier this month, seemed to be heavily medicated. At about 8:15 p.m., he exited his room and stabbed three others, including a man in the next room and the building’s manager.

The suspect was arrested on suspicion of three counts of first-degree assault, according to police radio traffic. The victims were taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Fresh Start, located at 811 South 11th St., serves as temporary housing for recently released inmates and others looking for a short-term place to live. The house has been peaceful in the past few years, so Saturday night’s incident was a shock, resident Hubert McDaniels said.

“We love this place. This is our home,” he said. “We have everything here.”

Another resident, Dennis MItchell, stood on the sidewalk in front of the house is his socks, rushed out by police before he could find his shoes. Officers taped off the entrance and told him that he should stay somewhere else for the night.

“This is it, we have no place to go,” he said.

DOT photo.

A two-vehicle collision has blocked two lanes of northbound Interstate 5 near Bridgeport Way, causing a long delay.

The Washington State Patrol said a two-vehicle collision, which happened at about 3:15 Saturday afternoon, has blocked the two left lanes of northbound I-5. There were minor injuries. State Department of Transportation cameras show crews removing what appears to be a RV and a SUV.

UPDATE: 5:20 p.m.: All lanes of northbound I-5 are now open. At its peak, traffic was backed up 11 miles to Nisqually in Thurston County.

It may be up to the U.S. Attorney’s Office to decide whether criminal charges should be filed against the man who was driving a boat that struck a teenage kayaker on American Lake earlier this year.

Lakewood city attorneys said today the collision that badly injured 14-year-old David Kenny “D.K.” Ross occurred in a part of the lake that’s inside the Fort Lewis Military Reservation, not the city limits.

That would make it a federal case if any crime was committed, Lakewood city attorney Heidi Wachter said.

“It’s not in our jurisdiction,” Wachter said.

(The map above – provided by the Lakewood City Attorney's Office – shows the location of the incident. The island on the lower right side of the map is Silcox Island, which is within the city limits.)

Her office reviewed the case after Pierce County deputy prosecutor Tim Jones decided earlier this month that the driver of the boat, whose name has not been released, had not committed any behavior that could be charged as a felony.

Jones sent the case to Lakewood to decide if misdemeanor charges or boating infractions were warranted.

Wachter said her attorneys discovered the jurisdictional question while reviewing police reports. Jones said today that after a subsequent review it also appears to him that the collision occurred outside the Lakewood city limits.

Wachter said she called the U.S. Attorney’s Office to make federal officials aware of the case.

Emily Langlie, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Seattle, said the case has not yet been forwarded to federal prosecutors for their review.

“There is only a small area of the lake that is within our jurisdiction,” Langlie said. “If it is determined to be within our jurisdiction, there are Army regulations and state regulations that may apply.”

D.K. suffered a ruptured spleen, broken ribs and a large gash in his head after being hit while paddling across the lake March 1. He remains hospitalized with serious injuries.

A fisherman told authorities he found the boy unconscious in the water and towed him to shore. Lakewood police first reported the case as a hit-and-run but later determined the boater who hit D.K. hadn’t left the scene after all.

D.K.’s family has reported that the fisherman is the person who hit the boy.

Law enforcement officers in King and Pierce counties will be waiting tables and talking to customers Saturday in an effort to raise money for Special Olympics of Washington.

Their efforts are for the annual "Tip-A-Cop" event. All tips from the day will be donated to Special Olympics of Washington.

Officers from the Tacoma, Fircrest, Steilacoom and Enumclaw police departments and the Washington State Patrol will be working at the Tacoma Red Robbin, 3901 S. Steele St., from noon to 8 p.m.

Auburn police officers will be serving food and waiting tables at the Auburn Red Robbin, 1002 Super Mall Way. They'll also be on duty from noon to 8 p.m. Saturday.

All 35 Red Robin locations in Washington State are hosting "Tip-A-Cop" events. Find a list of them here.

The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department is asking the public's help in locating Shannon Comenout, 38, a friend of Angela Harrison whose five children were shot and killed April 4 in their home by their father.

“We have tried to contact him and he knows we are looking for him but refuses to come in,” Pierce County Sheriff spokesman Ed Troyer said Friday. “We need to speak with him to tighten up time lines so history does not rewrite itself in the future.”

Comenout was with Angela Harrison when her husband James and their 16-year-old daughter confronted them in an Auburn convenience store the night before the children were killed.

Comenout is wanted on a $15,000 warrant issued out of Pierce County District Court in a 2006 domestic violence case unrelated to the Harrison family.

Pierce County detectives believe that on May 26, 2006, Comenout grabbed his then-girlfriend by the throat and choked her during an argument. When the victim’s father attempted to break up the fight, Comenout grabbed him and slammed him into walls and the floor, detectives said.

Comenout is 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighs 200 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes. He is known to frequent the Tacoma and Puyallup areas.

Tacoma Pierce County Crime Stoppers is offering up to $1,000 for information leading to his arrest. Call 253-591-5959. All callers will remain anonymous

You might have noticed fire engines heading for the port area this morning.

A full response of 30 firefighters headed to the Simpson plant at 801 E. Portland Ave. just after 9 a.m. because of a reported explosion, Tacoma Fire Deputy Chief Dan Crotty said.

The first-arriving engine discovered there was no longer an "explosion issue."

Fire crews treated two patients and transported them to a local hospital, Crotty said. No other information was available about their conditions.

Find out more about the incident on the Bizz Buzz here.

Pierce County prosecutors have charged a Fort Lewis soldier with promoting prostitution, alleging he was directing two teenage girls to trade sex acts for money.

Sterling Terrance Hospedales, a 25-year-old sergeant in the Army, was charged and arraigned Thursday on two counts first-degree promoting prostitution. He's being held in Pierce County Jail in lieu of $50,000 bail.

Agents with the federal Innocence Lost Task Force found the two girls - ages 16 and 17 - advertising prostitution services on Craigslist, the online classified Web site, charging documents state. The two were listed as missing persons.

Agents with the task force, which focuses on juveniles involved in prostitution, made a date with the 17-year-old girl and were notified of how much she charged for 30 minutes and for an hour.

The officers found the teen at a local McDonald's. She was with the 16-year-old girl, who'd been flown to Seattle from Wyoming by Hospedales, court documents state.

The girls were detained and interviewed, court documents state. They indicated Hospedales was their pimp and had taken and posted naked pictures of them on the internet.

The girls said they lived with Hospedales and did their "dates" on an air mattress in the living room. Officers served a search warrant on the apartment and found the air mattress, condoms, handcuffs and other items the girls had described.

"The females reported that Hospedales takes any money that they earn and it is put in a safe or in a drawer in his bedroom," charging documents state. "The females reported that Hospedales knows that they are under 18 years old."

Officers found several threatening messages from Hospedales on the girls' cell phones. He wanted to know where they were and what they were doing, court documents state.

Hospedales was arrested as he left his apartment. He had an envelope with $882 and the 16-year-old's birth certificate with him at the time.

"Hospedales told police that he thought the girls ran off with another pimp, so he took the money out of his safe so they couldn't steal it from him," charging documents state.

Officials at Fort Lewis are aware of the charges against Hospedales. The Army typically waits until the criminal case in civilian courts is completed before taking action against a soldier, Fort Lewis spokeswoman Catherine Caruso said.

Hospedales is an infantryman assigned to the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team. The Florida native joined the Army and has been stationed at Fort Lewis since March 2005.

In a statement, Caruso said the Department of Defense has a clear policy against human trafficking.

"It's a crime that erodes the integrity of the Armed Forces," she said. "We expect soldiers to be model citizens and the activity such as alleged in this case is clearly contrary to our Army values. Our commanders work tirelessly to install those values in our soldiers but sadly not every individual adapts to our culture of service."

UPDATE: The investigation into this case continues and federal charges against Hospedales may result, said Robbie Burroughs, spokeswoman for the Seattle FBI office.

The Pacific Northwest has an Innocence Lost Task Force with branches in Tacoma, Everett and Seattle. An investigator in that network first came across information about a missing girl who might be in the Lakewood area. The girl was listed as missing on the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children's Web site, Burroughs said.

The tip was investigated, then passed along to the Tacoma branch of the Innocence Lost Task Force and two Lakewood police officers on that task force.

"They took this information and ran with it," Burroughs said.

The charging documents are vague about when the girls were detained and where Hospedales' apartment was located.

The Port Militarization Resistance has announced it will hold a rally today in Tacoma after at least 130 Strykers have shown up in the Port of Tacoma.

The rally is set to start at 11:30 a.m. at the bottom of the staircase in front of the University of Washington-Tacoma campus on Pacific Avenue.

According to the organization, the Strykers appeared April 15.

"It is believed they are headed to Fort Lewis for repairs to be shipped back to a war zone at a later date," a press release states. "It is our intention to prevent the shipment of these vehicles through the use of blockades or other means. As the Obama administration furthers the war on Iraq and escalates the war in Afghanistan, it is important to take a stand against US imperialism. PMR puts direct economic strain on the governments that support these wars and places direct social pressure on the politicians that continue them as well. At a time when rampant foreclosures affect families across the nation and the federal government still chooses to increases the military budget for these wars of occupation, it is up to our communities to stop acts of U.S. imperialism."

This isn't the first rally held by the group. Members of the Port Militarization Resistance have protested the shipment of Strykers in Olympia, Tacoma and Aberdeen since the organization was formed in May 2006. They've also set up outside Fort Lewis to blockage military equipment.

UPDATE: News Tribune reporter Mike Archbold is down there right now (at 11:30 a.m.) and has found no one gathered for a rally.

He'll hang around for another few minutes to see if a crowd forms.

A young Tacoma man was arrested early today on suspicion of vehicular assault after a serious-injury, wrong-way crash on State Route 518 in Tukwila.

The Washington State Patrol suspects alcohol might have been involved in the crash caused by the 26-year-old man, troopers reported.

The crash occurred about 2:20 a.m. on State Route 518 just east of Highway 99. The man driving eastbound in the westbound lanes of SR 518 when he hit a car in the westbound lanes, troopers reported.

The 28-year-old woman driving the second car was injured and transported to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for treatment. Her condition was unknown this morning. The woman's car was totaled.

The Tacoma man also was injured. He was later released to the King County Jail. His Ford Mustang also was totaled.

Two people were injured - one seriously - early today when flames burned through an Olympia house.

A woman who lived at the home was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center. No other information about her condition is known, the Olympia Fire Department reported. A firefighter suffered a minor leg injury and was taken to a hospital for treatment.

Firefighters were called to the home in the 1800 block of Madison Avenue Northwest just before 3:15 a.m. today. Neighbors had called 911 after the woman came to their house and requested help. Initial reports were that the woman was seriously burned, the fire department reported.

Firefighters responded and discovered that a five-gallon propane used for cooking and heating had exploded. The explosion blew out a sliding glass door and compromised the rear wall of house.

Paramedics started working on the woman while firefighters doused the heavy flames in the back of the home. Crews found several other propane tanks leaking and burning inside the home, the fire department reported.

The burned woman was the only one inside.

Fire crews got the blaze under control at 4:03 a.m.

The left lane of southbound State Route 167 is blocked this morning because of a police investigation, the state Department of Transportation reported.

The activity is just north of the Highway 18 exit near Auburn. Police officers are investigating a previous collision, DOT reported at 7:40 a.m.

State Patrol troopers and transportation crews are on the scene.

Earlier this morning, a serious-injury crash blocked the left lane of both directions of State Route 167 in that area. Troopers and medical aid responded to the scene.

UPDATE: The police investigation has concluded and the southbound lane is reopened to all traffic.

UPDATE 2: Here's some information about the crash that started this whole thing.

Paramedics responded to reports of a car crash in the median of State Route 167 just north of Highway 18 just after 5:45 a.m. today, the Valley Regional Fire Authority reported.

They arrived and found one heavily-damaged car and two patients who were trapped. One of the patients was unconscious, the fire agency reported.

Firefighters extricated the man and woman inside. The woman was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for treatment of life-threatening injuries, the fire agency reported.

Paramedics drove the man, who was the car's driver, to Valley Medical Center for treatment of his injuries.

Washington State Patrol troopers are investigating.

Two more men now are charged in the death of Carmen Jackson, who was shot to death in downtown Tacoma earlier this month.

Pierce County prosecutors filed a first-degree murder charge today against Mack Terry Johnson, 30. They contend Johnson accompanied Ben Aaron Strickland on a robbery spree April 7 that ended with Strickland shooting Jackson in the 500 block of South Seventh Street.

Strickland and Johnson apparently were attempting to rob her of $50 she said she had, according to charging documents.

Strickland, 32, pleaded not guilty earlier this week to one count of first-degree murder. Johnson is scheduled to be arraigned Friday.

Earlier this week, prosecutors charged Kyle Russell Hollis, 38, with one count of rendering criminal assistance in the case. They claim Hollis hid the gun used to kill Jackson, according to court papers. He pleaded not guilty as well.

McLemore

Kent Police are looking for a woman who has been missing for a week, and her cell phone is now out of service.

Police say the last time anyone had heard from Alyssa A. McLemore was at 6:30 p.m. on April 9. Her grandmother told her that Alyssa's mother was ill. Since that conversation, no one had seen McLemore.

The next day someone called 911 from McLemore's cell phone asking for help. The phone did not have a GPS sensor, so officers were not able to locate her. After the call, officers spoke to McLemore's grandmother, who did not know where her granddaughter was.

On Sunday, McLemore's mother died.

"Kent Police are worried about Alyssa's welfare due to the call to 9-1-1 and as she has not checked on her mother in several days," Kent Police said in a news release.

McLemore is Asian/Pacific Islander, 5-foot-1 and 130 pounds. Officers are asking anyone who has seen or talked with her since April 9 to call Kent Police at 253-856-5800.

Sumner School District sent out this parent advisory at 1:22 p.m. today about a "modified lockdown" at Mountain View Middle School.

Here's what it said:

"While Bonney Lake Police Department investigated a report of a possible suspicious juvenile in the area the school, Mountain View Middle School went into a modified lockdown as a precaution. During a modified lockdown, school continues normal operations -- but secures all outside doors.

"The modified lockdown lasted about thirty minutes and was canceled at the direction of the police department .

"All students are safe and did a great job during the lockdown."

Qannik, the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium’s beluga whale that died March 28, died from a bacterial blood infection, officials announced today.

Necropsy results also show evidence of gastrointestinal disease, which may have made him more susceptible to this bacteria.

“We now know what caused Qannik’s death, but we still don’t know what made him succumb to illness in the first place,” said zoo head veterinarian Dr. Karen Wolf. “The bacteria he died from is a common microbe that occurs naturally in the environment.”

She said the bacteria is called enterococcus. “It’s common in the environment wherever people and animals live,” she explained.

Wolf said Dr. Judy St Leger, a veterinarian pathologist at Sea World, made the findings from samples of Qannik sent to her.

St. Leger also found inflammation of the colon and small intestine which may have made Qannik more susceptible to the bacteria.

Wolf said Qannik’s tissue samples will undergo further diagnostics to gain additional information about his overall health and add to the scientific community’s knowledge of beluga whales.

Qannik (pronounced kah-NIK) was eight years old. He came to Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in June 2007 from the John G. Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.

The aquarium’s other beluga, Beethoven, is healthy and doing fine but is still being watched closely, Wolf said.

Pierce County sheriff's deputies were investigating what led up to a shooting that injured a 22-year-old man in Parkland late Wednesday.

The man was taken to Tacoma General Hospital for treatment, Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said.

The man reported he was shot in the leg in a yard near Park and C streets about 10:20 p.m. The victim told deputies the suspect had fired because the man was in his stuff, Troyer said.

Neighbors reported hearing one shot. A police dog was called out but was not deployed.

The suspect was described as a white man, 6 feet tall and 160 pounds. He had brown hair, a goatee and wore a dark blue coat and blue jeans, Troyer said.

The shooting sent nearby Pacific Lutheran University into a short, campus-wide lockdown, the first-ever at the Parkland campus.

"It's mostly a notification for people to stay inside," university spokesman Greg Brewis said. He noted at that time of night, most of the buildings on campus are locked.

The lockdown was precautionary and lasted for 30 minutes. Find out more here.

The victim is not a student at the university and there was no information indicating the suspect was headed that way, Troyer said.

A pet cat was killed in a Spanaway duplex fire Wednesday night.

Central Pierce firefighters were called to the duplex in the 17300 block of East B Street just after 8:30 p.m., the department reported. They found smoke from the front of one side of the building.

Firefighters extinguished the flames. The fire and smoke damage was contained to the duplex where the blaze started. Investigators determined food left cooking on the stove in the kitchen sparked the fire, the fire agency reported.

The family's cat died. No other injuries were reported.

The blaze caused $30,000 damage, the fire agency reported. The Red Cross was called to provide shelter and clothing for the occupants of the damage unit.

There is a stepped up police presence at Annie Wright School today after a threat was found on the Internet, Tacoma police spokesman Mark Fulghum said.

Tacoma police was informed about a threat regarding the school that had been posted on the Internet. A person in the Midwest called the department about the threat, which had already been taken down, Fulghum said.

UPDATE: The school is on a modified lockdown today. Students are attending classes as normal, said school spokeswoman Sara Titus.

School officials are keeping parents informed through e-mails and voicemails.

No problems have been reported at the school.

UPDATE 2: Here are a few more details.

Tacoma police investigators have received a copy of the threatening web posting and are looking into where it was posted and by whom, Fulghum said.

The person who posted the threat mentioned being upset and "going out with style" and "blood on the water" at Annie Wright High School in Tacoma, WA.

"We can't tell where it was posted," Fulghum said.

The department was notified of the threat 2 a.m. today. Officers tried to find it but found it had been deleted.

Two Tacoma police officers have been stationed at the private school. Fulghum also reported no problems.

A multiple-vehicle crash is blocking the right lane of eastbound Highway 16 this morning near Burnham Drive.

The incident began shortly before 8 a.m., the state DOT reported. Traffic is backed up for one mile.

Washington State Patrol troopers, firefighters and medical aid are at the scene.

Drivers should expect delays.

UPDATE: As of 8:20 a.m., this crash has been cleared.

The lane is reopened but drivers should continue to expect delays until the backup dissipates.

A 32-year-old man suffered minor injuries late Wednesday in a hit-and-run crash on Interstate 5 in Tacoma.

The man was taken to a Tacoma General Hospital for treatment of his injuries, the Washington State Patrol reported.

The crash occurred just after 10 p.m. in the northbound lanes of Interstate 5. According to the State Patrol, two cars were getting off the highway at the 56th Street exit in Tacoma.

The suspect's vehicle passed the man's car on the off-ramp. The man steered off the roadway and rolled. His car came to rest on the grass on the driver's side, troopers reported.

The suspect's car didn't stop and got back onto northbound I-5.

The investigation was continuing.

Puyallup police are warning residents to be vigilant after a rash of residential burglaries in the past few weeks.

The burglaries have occurred on weekdays, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., according to a crime alert from the police department.

The burglars have targeted unoccupied homes. They've been kicking in the front or back door (some have been unlocked) to get inside, then stealing computers, electronic game systems, jewelry and cash.

The suspects have burgled homes on 31st Avenue Southeast, 20th Avenue Court Southeast, South Meridian and 17th Street Southwest, the department reported.

Officers ask residents to:

* Lock all doors and windows, especially when out of the house.

* Use heavy-duty dead bolt locks and strengthen the door jamb with screws that are at least three inches long.

* Be aware of suspicious vehicles in your neighborhood.

"If you answer the door during the day, and the person asks if someone lives there that you don't know, they may be setting up for a burglary," the crime alert states. "Call the police and provide a description of the person and their vehicle, if they have one."

Milton police officers arrested a 28-year-old woman overnight in connection with three armed robberies.

The robberies took place in the city over the past two weeks, Milton Police Chief William Rhoads wrote in a press release.

Officers arrested the Federal Way woman after she left a grocery store. She's also a suspect in robberies in Burien and Seattle, Rhoads reported.

The woman was booked into Pierce County on suspicion of first-degree robbery and two counts of second-degree robbery.

The state's Commission on Judicial Conduct has charged Pierce County Superior Court Judge Michael A. Hecht with violating the state's Code of Judicial Conduct by allegedly patronizing prostitutes, using racially insensitive language and engaging in unfair campaign conduct.

The commission announced the charges in a news release issued today.

Hecht has 21 days to file an answer to the charges.

An attempt to reach his attorney, Wayne Fricke of Tacoma, was not immediately successful this afternoon.

Hecht, who is also the subject of a criminal investigation, is on paid leave from his job. The state Attorney General's Office has charged him in Superior Court with one count of felony harassment and one count of patronizing a prostitute.

He's pleaded not guilty and is free on his own recognizance.

The Commission on Judicial Conduct's report in the matter is available here.

UPDATE: The commission contends in its "statement of charges" that Hecht paid cash to three men in exchange for sex numerous times between 1997 and 2008 and exchanged legal services for sex with another man in 1996. Some of the sex acts occurred when one of the men was a minor, according to the statement of charges.

It further accuses Hecht of directing "threatening behavior" toward two men last summer after he "came to believe the two men were talking to others about respondent's conduct with young male prostitutes."

The commission also contends Hecht repeatedly used a racial slur during a conversation with three people in 2007 and stole his opponent's campaign signs during last year's election.

MORE:The commission will hold a public hearing on the matter once Hecht submits his response to the charges.

The judicial conduct commission is charged with investigating claims of misconduct against judges and issuing sanctions. Punishment can include a recommendation to the Supreme Court that a judge be suspended or removed from office.

EVEN MORE: Hecht's attorney, Wayne Fricke, just called to say his client denies any wrongdoing and intends to fight the commission's charges.

"He is hoping and anticipating that he'll be exonerated at the end of all this," Fricke said.

He added that the commission "doesn't have all the information" but declined to elaborate.

Mason Middle School has been in lockdown this afternoon after a 13-year-old boy was found on campus with a gun.

School officials have the gun and no one has been injured, Tacoma police spokesman Mark Fulghum said.

The student has been booked into Remann Hall on suspicion of bringing a weapon onto school grounds.

School administrators called Tacoma police 12:45 p.m. today after they detained a boy who brought a gun to school for protection against some older kids, Fulghum said.

Officials had the gun. The boys' parents reported another weapon was missing from the house. The school, 2812 N. Madison St., was in lockdown as Tacoma police investigated where the second weapon was.

It's since been accounted for, Fulghum reported.

Students were being let out of the school.

Puget Sound-area law enforcement officers need the public's help in finding two men believed to be responsible for 11 takeover-style robberies in five counties over the past year.

Tacoma-Pierce County Crime Stoppers released information about the serial robbers, surveillance images and a composite sketch of one suspect today.

The two have targeted auto parts stores and restaurants in Pierce, Thurston, King, Kitsap and Mason counties. The spree began in April 2008.

The most recent robbery was Monday night. Investigators say the men robbed AutoZone, 413 Meridian Ave. E., in Edgewood just before 9 p.m. They displayed guns and demanded cash from the registers and safe, deputies reported.

The robbers tied up the auto store's employees, then took cash and merchandise from the store. They fled.

Witnesses described the both men as black, heavy set and in their 20s.

In addition to Monday's robbery, investigators also suspect the two are responsible for the following robberies:

* April 16, 2008 at a Dollar Store in Silverdale.

* July 29, 2008, at AutoZone, 3801 Sixth Ave., Tacoma.

* Sept. 22, 2008, at Great Clips in Port Orchard.

* Sept. 27,2008, at Auto Zone in Bremerton.

* Nov. 14, 2008, at Oh! Gallager’s Pub, 7304 Lakewood Drive W., in Lakewood.

* Dec. 11, 2008, at Arco AM/PM in Fife.

* Dec. 13, 2008, at AutoZone, 8308 Berkeley St. S.W., Lakewood.

* Jan. 30 at Subway in Olympia.

* Feb. 28 at Schuck's Auto Supply in Kent.

* March 19 at Kentucky Fried Chicken in Shelton.

The Nov. 14 takeover robbery at Oh! Gallagher's Sports Pub in Lakewood made news at the time. The men wore ski masks and ordered the patrons to a wall. One of the robber searched the patrons for their belongings as the other pointed his weapon at the bartender's head and demanded she empty the cash register.

As the gunmen left, another group of patrons enter the bar and a fight broke out. One of the robbers shot one of the patrons. The bullet grazed the victim's face.

The men have been captured on security cameras during some of the robberies but their faces are often obscured.

Crime Stoppers is offering up to $1,000 for information leading to arrests and charges filed in the cases. Tipsters may remain anonymous. Reach Crime Stoppers at 253-591-5959.

One lane of eastbound Highway 18 just west of the Tiger Mountain Summit is blocked this morning by a mudslide, the state Department of Transportation reported at 8:50 a.m.

DOT crews are on the scene and are cleaning up the slide.

UPDATE: The mudslide has been cleared and the lane of eastbound Highway 18 reopened.

A teen convicted of robbery Monday tried to flee a Pierce County courtroom after he was ordered to be taken into custody.

Aaron German, 17, now faces an additional charge of attempted first-degree escape. Prosecutors filed that charge Tuesday. German was arraigned and ordered held in Pierce County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail.

Court documents provide the following information:

German was charged in 2007 with first-degree robbery and unlawful possession of a firearm after he and another teen allegedly held up Bob's Grocery in the 5400 block of South M Street at gunpoint. (A third person also was charged in the case after he allegedly supplied a shotgun to German.) German was 16 years old at the time but charged in adult court because of the seriousness of the crime.

A jury found German guilty as charged Monday morning. He had been out of custody but the judge set bail after the conviction was announced.

Sheriff's deputies working at the County-City Building were called to the courtroom to provide security. Deputies went to take German into custody so he could be booked into the jail. He resisted the a deputy's efforts to handcuff him.

"German eventually spun away from Deputy Anderson and tried to run from the courtroom," court documents state.

The deputy caught German and took him into custody.

Child Protective Services records obtained by the attorney representing the family of Zina Linnik, who was killed in 2007, shows his request for documents in the possession of the Lakewood Police department is not unreasonable.

In a story in today's paper, attorney Tyler Firkins said his request for the documents was denied on the grounds it might jeopardize another homicide case. Lakewood Police Lt. Heidi Hoffman said Lakewood wasn't involved in the 2004 referral and previous news coverage indicated it had been looked into by the Pierce County Sheriff's Department.

Documents provided to the TNT, however, show Lakewood is mentioned several times in the records. The girl who had allegedly been sold or traded to Zina's killer, Terapon Adhahn, was thought to have been living at a Lakewood address. "The worker let the (tipster) know that a copy of this information will be sent to law enforcement in the area that serves the above address," it says. Another FBI document from 2007 mentions that a "report was filed with Lakewood PD in January, 2004..."

Another document from the Department of Social and Health Services cleaves to previous news reports, saying "The Information Only referral was changed to a Third Party report and was sent to the Pierce County Sheriff's Office."

I am playing a little catch - and clean up - today ...

Here's a recap of the monthly reports for some of the Tacoma Police Department's sectors and specialty units for January 2009.

Sector 1: The community liaison officers found four transient camps during the month and evicted the occupants. Clean-up crews then came in to handle the debris. Fencing was put up at the locations. The CLOs and narcotics officers found a marijuana grow operation at a home in the 1900 block of South Ainsworth Avenue. The resident was evicted and the home boarded up.

Sector 2: Officers spent their second month working on problems around South 4th and Tacoma Avenue. A decrease in calls for service was reported in that area in December.

Metro Parks facilities were hit with graffiti and vandalism during the month. The sector CLOs were working with park officials on the persistent problem.

Gang unit: Officers assigned to the unit arrested 36 people and booked them into Pierce County Jail on suspicion of 65 booking charges. Twenty-two of those arrested were known gang members or associates, 12 of those arrested were on active Department of Corrections supervision.

During the month, the unit made six drug arrests and one gun arrest. They seized $5,091 and a vehicle. Two guns and two stolen vehicles also were found.

Traffic unit: The department issued 1,689 violations from the red light cameras placed in the city. They also issued 1,004 traffic citations. Drivers in Sector 3 received the largest number of those citations, nabbing 308.

Eight drivers were arrested on suspicion of DUI.

K-9 unit: The department's police dogs made three felony arrests and one misdemeanor arrest. They found evidence for two incidents and conducted 188 tracks during the month.

Marine Services Unit: The dive team was called out to Spanaway Lake because a vehicle had gone off the road and into the water. Officers found the car in 15 feet of water. No one was inside.

Officers later discovered the vehicle had been reported stolen earlier that day.

Tacoma police believe a man responsible for robbing three bank in the city in recent weeks is now in custody.

The 31-year-old man was picked up in a gang sweep in Renton early Saturday and is being held at the Regional Justice Center in Kent. He's since confessed to the Tacoma bank robberies, Tacoma police reported Tuesday.

Federal charges could be filed soon against the man in connection with robberies:

* March 31 at Key Bank, 1120 S. 11th St.

* April 2 at Washington Mutual, 6616 Sixth Ave.

* April 7 at U.S. Bank, in the 7020 Pacific Ave.

In each case, the robber presented the bank teller a note demanding money and implied he had a weapon. He took cash and fled the bank. Late last week, investigators developed information about the robber's identity.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, around 40 federal and local law enforcement officers conducted a gang emphasis in south King County. They arrested 25 people, including the 31-year-old man.

He was arrested in Renton after he bailed out of a moving car, Tacoma police reported. He fought with officers and was taken into custody with the help of a police dog.

Tacoma police discovered the arrest on Monday morning when a patrol officer ran the name of the suspected bank robber through area jail rosters. Detectives worked the case Monday and into Tuesday.

Agents from the violent crimes task force in Seattle interviewed the man, who confessed to robbing the three banks in Tacoma and one Friday in Everett, Tacoma police reported.

Tacoma police officers were talking to a woman this afternoon who jumped off the Eells Street bridge.

The woman reported jumped just after 2 p.m., Tacoma police spokesman Mark Fulghum said.

She was pulled out of the water.

"They are attending to her now," he added.

Pierce County prosecutors filed charges Monday against a man suspected of hitting a Lakewood police car while trying to get away from officers during a drug arrest.

Shawn Dionte Haiston, 22, was charged with second-degree assault and unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver in connection with the incident Friday.

Court documents provide the following account:

Lakewood police were working an undercover drug investigation Friday morning on South Hosmer Street. At 10:50 a.m., they watched what appeared to be a drug transaction.

Officers contacted a man involved in the deal who was driving a car in the parking lot of a nearby apartment complex.

Officers identified themselves to the driver, later identified as Hairston. He put his car in reverse, drove backwards and "swerved directly into the driver's door" of a Lakewood police patrol car, court documents state. An officer was seated in the driver's seat at the time.

Hairston tried to drive away but was quickly arrested. He allegedly dropped $60 he'd been holding in his hands. Officers also found nearly $600 in cash, a cellphone and bag of marijuana on him.

Hairston told officers he didn't have a job.

Two teens walked into St. Joseph Medical Center early today after they were shot along Pacific Avenue in Tacoma.

The 17-year-old boys initially provided "a couple of different versions" of what happened to Tacoma police, agency spokesman Mark Fulghum said.

Eventually, they said they were shot near 34th Street and Pacific Avenue shortly after midnight. The teens reported they had been in one car. An incident began with another car further south on Pacific.

Around 34th street, gunfire erupted. The victims were driven to the hospital for treatment, Fulghum said.

Officers found some shell casings around 34th and Pacific.

The victims were expected to survive their injuries, Fulghum said.

A man wielding a handgun robbed a store on McKinley Avenue in Tacoma on Monday afternoon, Tacoma police reported.

The robber wore a blue cloth over his face, police spokesman Mark Fulghum said. He went into Panificadora, 6301 E. McKinley Ave., displayed a pistol and robbed the store just before 4:15 p.m.

He ran from the business. Officers didn't know whether the robber got into a vehicle.

No one inside the business was injured.

The robber was described as black and in his 20s. He work a black, hooded rain coat and the blue cloth over his face, Fulghum said.

King County sheriff's deputies arrested two boys Monday afternoon after they allegedly spiked their middle school teacher's coffee with Ipecac.

The 39-year-old teacher was taken to a local hospital for treatment. She was later released, the Sheriff's Office reported this morning.

The boys, who are 13 and 14, were booked into the Youth Center on suspicion of introducing a noxious substance with the intent to commit bodily harm, which is a Class B felony.

The two were at Sequoyah Middle School, 3425 S. 360th St., in unincorporated King County on Monday. The teacher noticed some students around her desk during her first-period language arts class and sent them back to their seats, Federal Way School District spokeswoman Diana Turner said.

A short time later, the teacher drank some of her coffee and quickly felt ill. She asked another teacher to take over her class, deputies reported. The teacher told the administrators a couple of students had been at her desk, Turner said.

"They quickly realized it was a serious situation," she said.

School administrators interviewed the boys. The boys admitted putting Ipecac, a vomit-induced syrup, into the teacher's coffee. Administrators emergency expelled the boys and called the King County Sheriff's Office.

Administrators at Sequoyah will be sending a letter home with students today about the incident.

"We do not know the students' intentions or underlying motives, but Washington State law is clear: an assault on a teacher is a felony," the letter states. "Please speak with your students about the serious consequences that they face if they attempt to harm a teacher or a fellow student, or if they simply play a 'joke' that involves physical pain or distress to someone else."

On my way to work this morning, I spotted snow covering patches of grass and roof tops along Canyon Road.

What month is this?

Anyone else see some snow out there?

Prosecutors filed charges last week against a woman suspected of shoplifting from two stores, leading police on a high-speed pursuit and hitting three cars, including an officer's patrol car.

Angela Lynette McGee, 43, was charged Friday with second-degree assault, attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle, second-degree theft and third-degree theft related to the spree on Thursday.

Court documents provide the following information:

A Pierce County sheriff's deputy spotted McGee speeding. (The time and location were not noted in the charging documents.) She pulled into a department store parking lot and parked close to an exit.

The deputy watched as the woman went into the store, then came out with her arms full of clothing. The clothes were not in shopping bags.

The woman threw the items into her car and sped off. An employee came outside and appeared to get the vehicle's license plate number.

The deputy followed McGee to a department store in Lakewood. Lakewood police officers were advised and arrived at the store.

The deputy and Lakewood officers watched McGee came out of the store with another armload of clothes. The tags were still on and she again had no shopping bags.

McGee put the clothes inside her car and got inside. The officers pulled up to her car.

McGee took over. She drove more than 50 mph on residential streets, went into oncoming lanes, ran stop signs and lights and struck two vehicles that were going the opposite direction.

One of her tires blew out. McGee maintained control of the car. Officers conducted a PIT maneuver but she kept going. She also avoided spike strips.

"She was eventually spun around and stopped by a Lakewood police officer in his car," court documents state.

A Lakewood officer parked his car about five feet in front of McGee's car. She accelerated and drove into the patrol car's front end.

Officers dragged her from the car and arrested her.

Officers estimated she stolen nearly $500 worth of clothing from the two stores.

The Pierce County Sheriff Department’s bomb squad was investigating a suspicious package left in Kirk's Pharmacy at the Sunrise Medical Campus this morning during a robbery.

According to Sheriff Deputy Ed Troyer, the robbery walked in and demanded controlled medication from the drug store's pharmacy, including Oxycontin, shortly after 11 a.m. He threatened to blow up the store if he didn't get the medication.

When the robber departed the store he left the package behind on the counter. Sheriff's deputies evacuated the store as a precaution, Troyer said.

"Unfortunately, the people that do these types of robberies are very unpredictable, so we're not taking any chances," he said.

UPDATE as of 12:45 p.m.: The bomb squad is at the scene. The robot is preparing to go into the building to retrieve the suspicious package.

Troyer reports about half of the Sunrise Medical Campus, 11212 Sunrise Blvd. E., has been evacuated so far. The campus is home to several medical offices.

Troyer didn't initially have a description of the robber. No arrest has been reported.

UPDATE as of 1:07 p.m.: The robber is described as a white man in his early to mid 40s, 5 feet 9 and 150 pounds, Troyer said. He was described as skinny. He had a scraggly beard and wore blue jeans.

Troyer didn't know where the robber headed after the robbery.

UPDATE as of 1:40 p.m.: The robot has removed the package.

UPDATE as of 2:20 p.m.: The bomb squad has blown up the suspicious package, Troyer reports.

Turns out, the package was several road flares taped together with wire. A cell phone was attached to the package.

"It was made to look real," Troyer said. The robber had told pharmacy employees the package was dynamite.

The Sheriff's Department will be working with federal agents on the case.

"It wasn't just a threat," Troyer said. "We have not had something like this."

Employees and patients have been allowed back into their buildings.

Photos are courtesy of Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer

The National Insurance Crime Bureau today released its annual rankings of the nation's top spots for car theft and several areas in the state continue to rank high.

The bureau ranks Yakima third, the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area 26th and Spokane 35th car theft rates for 2008. Overall, the agency reports that the auto theft in the state dropped 25 percent, going from 42,251 stolen cars in 2007 to 31,681 stolen vehicles last year.

(A word of caution about this survey ... the geographic definitions for cities have changed over the years. For example, "Tacoma" used to be all of Pierce County. Now Tacoma has been added to the metropolitan area that also includes Seattle and Bellevue and frankly all of King County and other counties. It appears that Vanouver, Wash. is lumped together with Portland, Ore.)

The National Insurance Crime Bureau put out this list of Washington cities with the highest car theft rates:

City Thefts Theft Rate

1. Yakima 1,828 779.32

2.Seattle/Tacoma/Bellevue 17,561 525.02

3. Spokane 2,211 477.87

4. Vancouver/Portland 7,694 348.55

5. Longview 307 303.20

6. Mount Vernon-Anacortes 282 238.98

7. Olympia 497 202.71

8. Kennewick-Richland-Pasco 475 201.41

9. Bremerton-Silverdale 369 153.90

10. Wenatchee 139 128.47

*The theft rate is based on the number of thefts per 100,000 inhabitants using 2008 U.S. Census Population estimates.

Here are the Top 10 most stolen vehicles in the state, according to the NICB:

1. 1992 Honda Accord
2. 1995 Honda Civic
3. 1989 Toyota Camry
4. 1994 Acura Integra
5. 1993 Saturn SL
6. 1994 Nissan Sentra
7. 1995 Toyota Pickup
8. 1995 Nissan Pathfinder
9. 1993 Subaru Legacy
10. 1994 Jeep Cherokee/Grand Cherokee

Tacoma police have arrested a man in connection with last week's shooting death of a 51-year-old woman on a downtown sidewalk.

The 32-year-old man was booked into Pierce County Jail early Saturday on suspicion of first-degree murder and two counts of first-degree robbery. He's scheduled to make his first court appearance this afternoon.

The man is the lone suspect in the April 7 death of Carmen Jackson, Tacoma police spokesman Mark Fulghum said. She was shot on the sidewalk in the 500 block of South Seventh Street just after 6 a.m. that day.

A witness had reported the gunfire to police dispatchers and said a man was seen running from the area.

Fulghum said detectives developed information last week on the homicide. The suspect, who lives near the crime scene, was a person of interest early in the investigation, he added.

Detectives believe the man tried to rob Jackson when something went awry, Fulghum said.

Based on the investigation, detectives also believe the man robbed two other people before he tried to rob Jackson, Fulghum said. Those two robberies occurred in the same area earlier that morning.

"He was just out robbing some people," Fulghum said.

The man was picked up Friday evening and interviewed by homicide detectives. He was booked into the jail early Saturday.

UPDATE: Prosecutors have charged Ben Strickland with first-degree murder in Carmen Jackson's death.

Strickland was ordered held in Pierce County Jail in lieu of $ 1 million bail. The defense attorney reserved argument on bail.

Court documents state a transient witnessed Jackson's death and identified Strickland as the gunman. Strickland initially denied any involvement. After failing a polygraph test, however, he admitted killing Jackson during a robbery.

Court documents also state a witness reported seeing Jackson two to three hours before Jackson's death, looking for someone to rob. He held a gun to a woman who was trying to buy drugs and took $20 from her. He robbed a couple for $4 and some drugs, court documents state.

"During the defendant's contact with victim Carmen Jackson, the victim was reported to have told
the defendant that she had $50.00 and wanted to purchase crack," court documents state. "The victim was overheard stating to the defendant, 'You will have to kill me if you want my $50.00.' It was then that the defendant pointed the gun at Carmen Jackson, and shot and killed her. A $50.00 bill was found inside the victim's pocket by police."

At some point that morning, someone overheard Strickland saying, "I am the boss" referring to being the boss of the neighborhood, court documents state.

Construction is nearing the end for the Lakewood Police Department's new headquarters.

The department is inviting the public to celebrate its new digs, 9401 Lakewood Drive S.W., next week.

During the open house, there will be a presentation of the flag and ribbon cutting. Tours of the new station will be offered.

The presentation is scheduled for noon Wednesday.

Tours will be offered from 12:30 to 4 p.m.

A Tacoma firefighter charged this week with vehicular homicide has been placed on paid administrative leave.

A letter was sent to Joseph Mondau on Friday about the leave, which begins Monday when he is next scheduled to work, Tacoma Deputy Fire Chief Jolene Davis said.

Prosecutors charged Mondau, 47, with vehicular homicide Wednesday, alleging he was drunk when his SUV broadsided a motorcyclist Monday night near the intersection of North Sixth Street and Grant Avenue.
Mark Kaytna, 43, died of his injuries the next day.

Prosecutors allege Mondau, a 12-year Tacoma fire veteran who was off duty at the time, was drinking at a Tacoma bar before the crash and refused a ride home from a friend. His breath registered a blood-alcohol level of .121 about an hour after the crash.

Davis said Mondau’s administrative leave is for up to two weeks. However, it can be shortened or extended, depending on when Chief Ron Stephens is able to review the police reports and other information in the traffic fatality.

“At this point, the chief needs to review all of the information which would include the police report,” Davis said. “The police report is going to be a key piece of evidence.”

The report is not yet available, Davis said.

The Associated Ministries will hold a Moment of Blessing for Kaytna on Tuesday at 1 p.m. at the intersection where he was killed. The short spiritual ceremonies are intended to cleanse the spots where homicides occur in Pierce County.

The events, which are open to the public, also are designed to provide support to the victim's family, friends and the community where the crime occurred.

Federal Way police have arrested a 14-year-old girl on suspicion of second-degree murder in the death of a newborn found in her bedroom Thursday afternoon, the department announced Friday.

Investigators arrested the girl Friday after learning through interviews that the baby was alive when born.

"(The death) was intentional," Federal Way police spokesman Raymond Bunk said Friday. He declined to be more specific about the baby’s cause of death.

Officers also arrested the baby's father, a 20-year-old Federal Way resident, on suspicion of second-degree child rape because of the mother’s age. He was interviewed and investigators believe he had a consensual sexual relationship with the teenage girl, Bunk said.

Investigators believe the baby was conceived when the mother was 13. Detectives do not believe the father was involved in the baby’s death, Bunk said.

"This type of tragic event should serve as a reminder to all that there are several options available to those in situations such as this," Bunk wrote in a press release.

Officers launched an investigation Thursday. The girl told family members she was bleeding heavily and needed medical help. Some family rushed her to the hospital.

Meanwhile, other family members found the newborn unresponsive in the girl's room and called police to the apartment in the Club Palisades Apartment Complex on South Star Lake Road.

The King County Medical Examiner's Office had planned to conduct an autopsy Friday on the baby to determine the child's gender and whether the child was alive at birth or was stillborn. The Federal Way police press release did not indicate what the autopsy results showed.

Neighbors have told The News Tribune’s news partner, KIRO TV, that no one knew the girl was pregnant.

When she's released from the hospital, the girl will be booked into the King County Juvenile Detention Center on suspicion of second-degree murder. The father was booked into King County jail on suspicion of second-degree child rape.

No charges have been filed against the father or mother in the case, said Dan Donohoe, spokesman for the King County Prosecutor's Office. A decision could be made next week about possible charges.

In a press release Friday, the Federal Way Police Department cited state law, which says the parent of a newborn is not subject to criminal liability if he or she transfers the newborn to a qualified person at an appropriate location.

Those locations include a hospital emergency department or a fire station during its hours of operation and while fire personnel are present.

"There are also several community organizations that will assist in this and other types of crises," the press release states.

UPDATE as of 3:45 p.m.: Medical Examiner's Office reports the victim was a baby girl. Autopsy results are still pending.

A 25-year-old Puyallup man was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison today after being convicted of embezzling more than $2 million from the Manke Lumber Co.

Brett M. Smith pleaded guilty in January to one count of mail fraud. He admitted to using his job at Manke to create phony invoices for logs never delivered to the company's mill. Manke officials would send checks to co-conspirators in the scheme.

Nearly 20 others also were prosecuted in the case – more than half for tax crimes – but federal investigators called Smith the ringleader.

The scam netted Smith and others more than $2.4 million.

"Brett Smith, and several under him, seduced 25 others into lives now marred with criminal records with the lure of easy cash," assistant U.S. Attorney Arlen Storm wrote in a sentencing memorandum.

Before handing down the sentence, U.S. District Court Judge Ronald Leighton called the crime "deplorable and despicable" and said the fact that Smith and many of his co-conspirators were young "has caused me more fear for our future," according to a press release issued by the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Leighton then sentenced Smith to two years above the high end of the standard range. He also ordered Smith to pay $2.4 million in restitution.

Smith's attorney, Brett Purtzer of Tacoma, asked Leighton to sentence Smith to six years, six months in prison, saying the prosecution has been "a truly humbling experience" for his client.

In a letter to the court, Smith apologized for his actions.

"My actions were very selfish," he wrote to Leighton. "It is overwhelming when I think of the acute pain, suffering, stress and financial hardships that my irresponsible behavior and horrible choices had on my life and the lives of others."

The case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service, the Tacoma Police Department and the Internal Revenue Service's criminal investigations unit.

An oversized semi-truck got tangled in overhead wires this morning on Highway 99 in Milton.

The truck blocked all lanes at Porter Way for about 15 minutes, the state DOT reported.

All lanes are now reopened.

Federal Way Police are investigating the discovery of a dead infant in a teenage girl's bedroom.

Police say officers were called to the Club Palisades Apartment Complex on South Star Lake Road while fire officers were performing CPR are in a recently born infant. The baby had died when officers arrived.

The 14-year-old mother told police that she had been bleeding heavily and needed to go to the hospital. While family members took her to a hospital, other family members found a nonresponsive infant in the teenager's bedroom. They called police and the mother came back to the apartment.

Police do not know if the child was alive at birth and a crime did occur or if it was still born. The mother was taken to Saint Francis Hospital and the baby was taken to the King County Medical Examiner's Office..

Fife police raided a suspected drug house Thursday morning and arrested a man without incident on possible drug charges.
Armed with a high risk narcotics search warrant for a house in the 6900 block of Park Street, Fife investigators were assisted by the Metro SWAT team, according to the Fife police.
The arrest culminated a lengthy investigation into distribution of illegal narcotics at the residence, police said.
The man arrested was known to carry firearms and had previous arrests for weapons violations, police said.
A search of the houses and vehicles there found suspected narcotics and further evidence of narcotics distribution from the house, police said.
Further details about the man arrested and the investigation were not immediately available. The man will be booked into the Pierce County jail for investigation of numerous felony charges, police said.

A Pierce County sheriff's deputy fired four rounds at a driver who twice rammed his patrol car this morning, sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said.

Neither the deputy nor the man driving the other car was hurt.

The incident took place about 10:30 a.m. near the intersection of Pacific Avenue South and 159th Street South in Spanaway.

Troyer said the deputy stopped the car for a routine traffic infraction when the driver pulled behind a hardware store. The man then threw his car into reverse and drove into the deputy's car, Troyer said. He pulled forward, made a U-turn and hit the deputy's car again, pinning the deputy inside.

It was then that the deputy drew his pistol and fired four shots into the driver's windshield, Troyer said.

The man then surrendered. He was in custody at the scene and is expected to be booked into jail later this morning.

UPDATE: Sheriff's deputies are impounding the man's car and will be awaiting a search warrant to go through it. It appears there might be stolen property inside, Troyer said.

The man had a $15,000 escape warrant.

"The guy is very lucky to be alive," Troyer said.

The deputy will be placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard procedure when deadly force is used.

"At least this point everything looks like it was done by our protocols and guidelines," Troyer said of the shooting.

Photo courtesy of PCSO spokesman Ed Troyer.

State DOT is reporting that an over-sized load is blocking the ramp from eastbound 512 to I-5.

State troopers and the DOT Incident Response team are on the scene.

Watch for back-ups.

UPDATE: The ramp is now clear and traffic flowing freely again.

A Day Island home was damaged and a few people suffered minor injuries after a speeding BMW crashed into the house and burst into flames early today.

A resident of the home suffered cuts from flying glass and was treated for minor injuries. The car's driver and one of the two passengers also were transported to local hospitals for treatment of minor injuries, Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said.

The crash occurred just after 1 a.m. A late model BMW was "going an extremely high speed" down Day Island Bridge, Troyer said.

"Obviously, the driver didn't know where he was at," he added because the road dead ends.

The BMW ripped through a rock wall, over concrete pillars and crashed into the home in the 2400 block of Day Island Boulevard West, Troyer said. The car caught fire.

The flames damaged the house and melted the siding of a neighboring home, Troyer said.

The driver fled. Deputies found him about 45 minutes later.

"All those three guys are lucky to be alive," Troyer said.

Investigators suspect alcohol and speed were factors in the crash. Troyer said the car's three occupants were active-duty soldiers.

Roses, daisies, candles and a "Thinking of You" balloon have been left on the downtown Tacoma sidewalk where a 51-year-old woman was fatally shot earlier this week.

The memorial is for Carmen Jackson.

Jackson was found shot to death on the sidewalk outside an apartment building in the 500 block of South Seventh Street just after 6 a.m. Tuesday.

A caller reported the gunfire and told dispatchers a white man was fleeing the area in the moments afterward.

Tacoma police had found no witnesses to the shooting and have not released a possible motive. No arrests have been made.

A Moment of Blessing ceremony for Jackson is scheduled for noon Tuesday (April 14) on the sidewalk where she died. Bamboo poles laced with red and purple ribbon will mark the spot.

Associated Ministries host the Moment of Blessing ceremonies to cleanse the places where people are killed in homicides in Pierce County.

Tacoma police have arrested a man wanted on suspicion of kidnapping and assaulting an ex-girlfriend last month.

Prosecutors had charged Cortlandt Young, 26, with first-degree kidnapping and two counts of second-degree assault after he and a friend beat up and held the woman hostage for 13 hours last month in a domestic violence-related attack in Lakewood. The friend, Devan Hopson, was charged with three counts of second-degree assault.
Warrants had been issued for the arrest of Young and Hopson last week. Lakewood police arrested Hopson last week.

Tacoma police found Young on Wednesday night. He was booked into Pierce County Jail just before 8:45 p.m. The circumstances of the arrest were not immediately known.

UPDATE: Members of the local violent crimes task force received information Young was at an apartment complex in the county, Tacoma police spokesman Mark Fulghum said.

Members of the task force and the Tacoma Police Department's gang unit contacted Young and took him into custody without incident, Fulghum said.

Pierce County prosecutors have charged a 25-year-old man with attempted first-degree murder after another man was stabbed and critically injured during a fight between the two.

The charge against Nicholas Michael Rickman was filed Wednesday.

The injured man was in critical condition at St. Joseph Medical Center after being stabbed four times, court documents state. The charging documents describe the victim's injuries as "a laceration to his heart, a punctured lung, his spleen was almost severed and his small intestine was punctured."

Court documents provide the following account:

Rickman, the victim and two others were out drinking and playing pool Monday night and into early Tuesday. Their last stop was a bar on Sixth Avenue in Tacoma. After the establishment closed, the four men got into the victim's car and left.

The victim and Rickman got into an argument. "The exchange seemed to be back and forth, with each threatening to 'kick [the other's] butt,'" court documents state.

At one point, the victim stopped his car on Sixth Avenue, got out and challenged Rickman to a fight. Rickman told the victim to get back inside.

The four then continued to Rickman's home in the Gig Harbor area. At the home, the victim and Rickman jumped out of the car and quickly scuffled. The two other men got out of the car and found the victim on the ground, "holding his chest and bleeding profusely," court documents state.

Rickman directed the two to call 911.

Pierce County sheriff's deputies contacted Rickman at the scene. "He was intoxicated and his arms were covered in blood," court documents state.

Rickman told deputies several versions of how the victim got injured, first saying he didn't know what happened then saying the stabbing occurred in Tacoma. Another version claimed the attacker fled on foot.

One of the other men told deputies Rickman carried a wooden-handled pocket knife and was known to have a temper. Later, Rickman told deputies the victim attacked him and had made threats on the drive from the Sixth Avenue bar.

"The defendant said when they got to the house, [the victim] jumped him and started to beat him up," court documents state. "He said that all of a sudden [the victim] started bleeding. The defendant said he had no idea what could have happened to [the victim]. When asked whether there was anyone else involved in the fight, he said 'no.' When asked if there was any way [the victim] might have fallen on something, the defendant said he did not think so."

Rickman had no visible injuries.

During his arraignment Wednesday, Rickman was ordered held in Pierce County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bail.

Ferry riders should expect delays today because the M/V Christine Anderson is operating on one main engine, Pierce County reported this morning.

Crews have not be able to start the No. 1 main engine. They don't know what's causing the problems. Mechanics have been called to determine the cause of the engine trouble and to fix it.

UPDATE: The ferry has been fixed. Here's the RIDER ALERT from the county.

As of the 10:20 a.m. run the M/V Christine Anderson was operating at 100%. NC Machinery determined the problem to be the air starter lube oil in the number #1 engine that did not drain entirely causing a muffler to jam thus not allowing air to properly pass through the starter. The oil was changed to a lighter viscosity allowing the engine to operate normally.

A young man was injured early today after gunmen targeted the bedroom window of an East Side home in a drive-by shooting, Tacoma police reported.

The 19-year-old victim's injuries were not considered life threatening. No arrests have been reported.

The shooting occurred at 12:41 a.m. today.

A white van occupied by several males slowly drove by a home in the 2100 block of East 38th Street. The occupants of the van fired several times at the address and appeared to specifically target a bedroom window, police reported.

A man lying in bed in that bedroom was hit by the gunfire in the thigh.

Tacoma police suspect the shooting might be gang related.

A Kent man is being treated at Harborview Medical Center after fighting with a group at the Federal Way Transit Center after he reportedly told one of them to keep his voice down.

At about 11 p.m. on April 6, the 32-year-old man was waiting for a bus when he approaching a loud teenager and told him to lower his voice. When he said that, a group came up to the man and hit him in the face, according to Federal Way Police. The two began to fight when other members of the group jumped in and hit the man, causing him to fall. The group ran, and police were not able to locate them.

Police say the victim suffered a broken jaw, broken face bones and numerous teeth were removed. Police say they are following leads and reviewing security video of the incident.

The man who reportedly threw the first punch is decribed as an 18- to 21-year-old black male with black braided hair, about 5-foot-8 to 5-foot-10 and was wearing long dark shorts, a white T-shirt, dark shoes and a blue or black baseball cap. The man who reportedly jumped into the fight is described as a 5-foot-8 to 5-foot-10 black male who was wearing long dark shorts, a black T-shirt with white lettering, dark shoes and a black baseball cap with a yellow bill.

This is the third recent, high-profile incident at the center, which is located at South 317th and 23rd Avenue South. In January 2008, Darrel Miller, 38, was shot and killed while walking across a bus lane. She reportedly was not the intended target of the shooting. In September 2008, Muse Sugulle was stabbed on a King County Metro Transit bus while it was leaving the station.

Tacoma/Pierce County Crime Stoppers photo.

Police are looking for information leading to the arrest of Kacy J. Estes, the third suspect in last week's deadly Salishan housing development shooting.

An arrest warrant was issued Tuesday for the 19-year-old Estes. Two other suspects, Michelle D. Deda and Alejandro F. Lloret, have already been arrested. The three are charged with first-degree murder.

Prosecutors say Estes shot Crystal Rhoads and her boyfriend March 31 after an argument inside an apartment at East 46th and East R streets in Tacoma. Two children sleeping in another room were not hurt.

Court records state Deda, Estes and Lloret were at the apartment doing drugs with Rhoads, her boyfriend and three other people, including the parents of the two children.

Estes and Rhoads' boyfriend began to argue, the records state. The three were told to leave.

Documents state Estes was angry that Rhoads' boyfriend had "disrespected" him. Lloret suggested the group go back and rob the man. They agreed and Deda drove them back to Salishan.

They returned to the apartment and Estes opened fire. Rhoads was shot six times and the boyfriend three times, according to court records.

Tacoma/Pierce County Crime Stoppers are offering a $1,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of Estes.

A memorial for the five slain Harrison children will be held Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at Orting High School.
As many as 1,200 people are expected to attend the memorial for Maxine, Heather, Samantha, Jayme and James Harrison who were found slain in their Graham area home Saturday. All were students in the Orting School District.
Pastor Lance Powers, senior pastor at Puget Sound Christian Center, will lead the memorial which is open to the public. Many students, their families and district staff will be there.
The memorial will include a slide show and special readings prepared by the schools the children attended.
Powers will give the eulogy.
The high school is located in Orting at 320 Washington Ave.

Associated Ministries will hold a Moment of Blessing ceremony Thursday evening for the five siblings killed in their Graham-area home last weekend.

The brief, spiritual ceremony for the Harrison children - Maxine, 16; Jayme, 14; Samantha, 12; Heather, 9; and James, 7 - begins at 5 p.m. Thursday at their home in the 20400 block of 135th Avenue Court East in the Deer Run Mobile Home Park.

Bamboo poles laced with red and purple ribbons will mark the site of the ceremony. Each ribbon bears the name of a person killed by homicidal violence in Pierce County.

Pierce County sheriff's investigators have said the children's father, James Harrison, fatally shot his five children early Saturday, drove to Auburn and killed himself. He was upset after learning he wife was going to leave him.

The Associated Ministries hosts Moment of Blessing ceremonies to cleanse the places where people are killed in Pierce County. The events are open to the public and are intended to provide support to the victim's family members, friends and the community where the death occurred.

The man suspected of killing another man during a fight in Lakewood last month is scheduled to be arraigned on murder charges this afternoon.

Prosecutors have already charged Damien R. Garza with first- and second-degree murder in connection with Tyrone Tinsley's death March 26 in the 5200 block of Solberg Drive Southwest.

Garza was booked into Pierce County Jail on Tuesday afternoon. He'll make his first court appearance today.

To read more about the charges against him, go here.

UPDATE as of 2:55 p.m.: A not guilty plea was entered on Garza's behalf today in Superior Court. Bail was set at $1 million.

A motorcyclist critically injured in a crash with an off-duty Tacoma firefighter earlier this week has died of his injuries.

Mark Kaytna, a 43-year-old Lakewood resident, died Tuesday afternoon at St. Joseph Medical Center, the Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office reported.

Tacoma police have reported Kaytna was riding a motorcycle Monday night when he was struck by another car at the intersection of North Sixth Street and Grant Avenue. The intersection is not controlled by any traffic signs or lights.

An off-duty Tacoma firefighter was behind the wheel of the other vehicle, police reported. He was arrested and booked into Pierce County Jail on suspicion of vehicular assault because alcohol was suspected in the crash.

The firefighter bailed out of jail.

UPDATE as of 1:51 p.m.: Pierce County prosecutors today charged Joseph C. Mondau, 47, with vehicular homicide in Kaytna's death, alleging Mondau was intoxicated when the crash occurred.

According to court documents, a friend of Mondau's told officers Mondau had been drinking. The friend offered to give Mondau a ride home but he refused.

The friend followed Mondau to make sure he got home OK. Officers arrived at the scene of the crash and found Kaytna gravely injured. His motorcycle was wedged underneath Mondau's X-Terra. Kaytna suffered a broken leg, collapsed lung and severe head injuries.

Officers noted the smell of alcohol on Mondau. His eyes were bloodshot and watery. When officers asked him what happened, he said, "I turned onto Grant from Division and accelerated to here. I did not see him until it was too late."

"The defendant was asked to perform a series of voluntary field sobriety tests which he readily agreed to do," court documents state. "Based upon those tests Officer White believed the defendant showed signs of intoxication."

Mondau gave a breath test at 9:33 p.m., which registered a BAC of .121. Mondau was then arrested and taken to St. Joseph Medical Center for a blood draw. Those results have not been returned.

UPDATE as of 2:05 p.m.: A plea of not guilty was entered on Mondau's behalf during his arraignment today.

The judge kept his bail at $10,000.

Mondau's attorney, Rob Freeby, said Mondau has been in counseling since pulling a woman out of a house fire. The woman later died.

A “Harrison Memorial Ride” is planned for Saturday in the Orting-Graham area to raise money for funeral expenses for the five Harrison children found slain Saturday in their Graham area home.

Ron Alvord, a family friend, is organizing the motorcycle run which is also open to any vehicle or truck.

Alvord of Bonney Lake said the riders will gather at Orting Middle School, 111 Whitehawk Blvd. NW, in Orting at noon. The ride will begin at 2 p.m.

He said the 20-mile ride will pass by Deer Run Mobile Home Park of the Orting Kapowsin Highway where the Harrison children lived.

Flowers will be left at the mobile home park entrance as a memorial to the children: Maxine, 16; Heather, 14; Samantha, 12; Jayme, 9; and James, 7. All were shot to death by their father James who then killed himself.

He said he has the blessing of the children’s mother, Angie Harrison, for the event.

“I was just trying to figure out a way to help,” he said. The money raised from participants will be given to the family for funeral and related expenses, he explained.

Alvord also opened an account for the family at any Bank of America. Donations can be made at any bank branch to the “Harrison Children’s Memorial Fund.”

For information on the ride, e-mail Alvord at dragon6977@hotmail.com.

The state Department of Social and Health Services released a statement today regarding the five Harrison children who were found slain in their home Saturday near Graham.
News stories about the deaths of Maxine, Jayme, Samantha, Heather and James at the hands of their father prompted a review of any records relating to reports of abuse in the family.
Sherry Hill, a DSHS spokeswoman, said the review of Children’s Administration records found five referrals from 2001 to 2007. Four of them were for personal hygiene involving one child.
She said investigations determined the hygiene problems did not meet the legal definition of abuse or neglect, and the family was referred to services in the community. The latest referral was for a physical abuse in February 2007 which was determined to be abuse. Community services also were offered, she said.
All the referrals to the agency were from schools, she said.
All referrals were from mandatory reporters include those whose jobs require them to report suspected abuse such as nurses, doctors, school employees and state workers.
Hill said the state’s case file doesn’t paint a picture of an abusive household but that doesn’t mean abuse didn’t go on there.
Pierce County Sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said this week that their search of records only could find the 2007 case. He said one of the children was slapped due to a discipline problem at school and the father, James Harrison, agreed to a parenting program.
Hill said there was nothing in the records reviewed so far about a parenting program. She said the agency decided to release as much information as they legally could on the children because they felt many people wanted to know.
“The key is we have not heard from anyone about this family for two years,” Hill said. “One thing that is certainly important is if someone feels a child is abused they need to report it.
If people suspect child abuse, Hill said they sould can call the state number 1-866-ENDHARM (1-866-363-4276).

A man was killed Tuesday afternoon when his pickup was struck by a Fort Lewis Stryker vehicle on highway 507 near Spanaway.

Washington State Patrol Trooper Brandy Kessler said two Strykers were stopped at the intersection of 8th Street and highway 507. The first turned onto the highway, and as the second was entering the roadway, it collided with the passenger side of a red Ford F-250 at about 4:40 p.m.

The man who was driving the truck died. No information about him is available, and investigators don't yet know if the truck had a passenger. Troopers are investigating. All lanes of highway 507 are closed.

"We don't know why, we don't know who is at fault. That's still under investigation," Kessler said.

"Good Samaritans" stopped at the scene of a crash near Purdy and rolled a car off of its pinned driver, according to the Washington State Patrol.

A Gig Harbor woman was driving west on highway 302 when her car left the roadway off of the right shoulder and rolled onto a beach at about 1 p.m. Tuesday. It landed on its side, pinning the 46-year-old driver under her 1998 BMW 318.

The Washington State Patrol said passersby came to the scene and rolled the vehicle off the driver. She was taken to Tacoma General Hospital.

A Fort Lewis soldier was found shot in his car Tuesday afternoon on post.

Officials say the male soldier was found with a gunshot wound to the head in his car near the Gray Army Airfield. He was taken to Madigan Army Medical Center, where he died at about 2:30 p.m. The soldier's name has not been released. Army officials are investigating the death.

"The Fort Lewis community extends its most heartfelt condolences to the family, friends and loved ones of the Soldier who died," a Fort Lewis news release states.

A man robbed a South End bank branch this morning and Tacoma police were looking into the possibility the robber is the same man who struck twice last week in the city.

The robbery occurred just after 9:30 a.m. at the U.S. Bank at 7020 Pacific Ave., Tacoma police spokesman Mark Fulghum said. The man entered the bank and handed the teller a note that demanded cash.

The bandit did not imply he had a weapon.

The robber fled the bank branch with an undisclosed amount of money, Fulghum said. A police dog tracked the robber's scent to west of the bank but then lost the odor.

The robber was described as black, in his 20s, 5 feet 4 and 150 pounds. He wore a brown knit beanie that had a bill, black jacket, black shirt, brown boots and jeans.

Fulghum said investigators suspect the bandit is likely the same man who robbed two banks in Tacoma last week.

(This photo is from today's bank robbery.)

Hat found at the scene. Tacoma Police photo.

Tacoma police have arrested a suspect in the slaying of a cab driver earlier this year.

The man was booked into Pierce County Jail on suspicion of first-degree murder and first-degree robbery just before midnight Monday. He's expected to be in court for arraignment this afternoon, according to prosecutors.

Mohamud Ahmed, 22, was killed the morning of March 8, his throat cut by an attacker who apparently had been a passenger in his orange-and-blue taxi. Ahmed's slaying on a barren street in South Tacoma was the city's first homicide of the year, and police have been trying to track down who killed the man.

Dispatch records King Cab Co. of Fife show Ahmed picking up a passenger at Sixth Avenue and Pine Street in Tacoma about 2 a.m. GPS records show him stopping at the 3600 block of South Lawrence Street, and he was not heard from again. Police believed Ahmed was killed during a robbery.

Detectives identified the suspect, who's in his early 30s, through the investigation, Tacoma police spokesman Mark Fulghum said.

A black stocking cap found at the crime scene helped build the case, police said. The state crime lab was able to provide investigators with information tying the cap to the crime scene.

Investigators also canvassed businesses along the Sixth Avenue corridor for witnesses who spotted Ahmed's cab the night of his death. They also studied video surveillance, police said.

He was arrested without incident Monday night in the South End of the city.

The U.S. Marshal's Office and the local violent crimes task force assisted in the investigation, Fulghum said.

UPDATE: Pierce County prosecutors have charged Jaycee Fuller, 31, with first-degree murder. A plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf.

Fuller was ordered held in Pierce County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail. Prosecutors have made a motion to seek a DNA sample from Fuller. That motion will be heard April 21.

Evidence technicians found a hair inside the hat that detectives believe belong to the killer. They want to see if Fuller's DNA matches the hair.

Tacoma police have arrested a man in connection with the shooting death of a woman at a Salishan apartment last week.

Investigators booked the man into Pierce County Jail this morning on suspicion of first-degree murder, first-degree assault, unlawful drug possession, unlawful possession of a firearm, possession of a stolen firearm and six counts of identity theft.

The man is the second person arrested in the double shooting the morning of March 31 inside an apartment at the corner of East 46th and East R streets.

Crystal Rhoads, 29, and her boyfriend were shot multiple times. Rhodes died at the hospital. The boyfriend is recovering from his injuries.

Last week, Tacoma police arrested a woman in connection with the deadly shooting. She was ordered held in Pierce County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail. Prosecutors have until today to charge her in the case.

Tacoma detectives continued to search for more people in the shooting.

UPDATE as of 2:11 p.m.: Prosecutors today charged three people in the shooting.

Michelle Deda, Alejandro F. Lloret and Kacy J. Estes all are charged with first-degree murder and first-degree assault in the case. Prosecutors also charged the three with second-degree murder to give themselves options during plea bargaining and at trial.

Deda and Lloret have been arrested. A warrant has been issued seeking Estes' arrest. Not guilty pleas were entered on Deda's behalf today.

According to charging documents, Estes opened fire on the pair after he and Rhoads' boyfriend argued over something. Estes apparently felt "disrepected" by the boyfriend, the documents state.

Deda and Lloret are charged as accomplices.

A motorcyclist was critically injured Monday night in a crash in Tacoma.

The suspected causing driver, reportedly an off-duty Tacoma firefighter, was arrested and booked into Pierce County Jail on suspicion of vehicular assault. The man has since bailed out of the jail.

The motorcyclist was taken to a local hospital for treatment of his injuries, Tacoma police reported Mark Fulghum said.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the person and their family," Tacoma Deputy Fire Chief Jolene Davis said this morning.

The crash was about 8:30 p.m. at North Sixth Street and South Grant Avenue, which is an uncontrolled intersection, Tacoma police and fire officials reported. Fulghum did say that police were investigating whether alcohol was involved.

The firefighter, who was not working at the time of the crash, was not scheduled to work again until Monday. Fire Chief Ron Stephens will review reports from Tacoma police in the coming days and then will take the appropriate action, Davis said.

A woman was fatally shot outside a Tacoma apartment building this morning and Tacoma police were searching for the shooter.

No arrests have been made.

The victim, who is believed to be in her early 50s, died at the scene in the 500 block of South Seventh Street, Tacoma police spokesman Mark Fulghum said. The woman's name has not yet been released.

Detectives were combing the street for evidence and talking to residents of the apartment building about what they might have seen or heard.

Someone called 911 just after 6 a.m. today to report a gunshot being fired in the area. Officers arrived and found the woman deceased on the sidewalk, Fulghum said.

The caller also reported seeing a heavy-set, white man in a dark-colored jacket running from the area. A police dog responded to the scene but was unable to conduct a track for the man, Fulghum said.

Investigators have found no witnesses to the deadly shooting and have not identified a motive.

"It could have been anything," Fulghum said.

Police tape was put up around the crime scene. Officers have South Seventh Street blocked off from Tacoma Avenue South to Court East Street.

The crime scene is two blocks from the City-County Building. Some drivers along Tacoma Avenue South were slowing past the scene.

Tacoma police were investigating a shooting Monday night outside an address on South Orchard Street.

An argument erupted just before 6:45 p.m. in front of the address in the 3700 block of South Orchard Street, police reported. Several shots were fired.

Bullets struck a parked car and the apartment building but Tacoma police officers found no one injured at the scene, police reported.

A short time later, a person checked into a local hospital with a gunshot wound to the thigh. The victim was uncooperative with officers, police reported.

The investigation is ongoing.

Crews will block off a lane of northbound Interstate 5 near Fort Lewis today to pick up litter and debris.

The left lane will be blocked off from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., the state Department of Transportation reported. Members of the state Department of Ecology Youth Corps will be working in the median.

"Litter and debris collects in the rose bushes growing in the median, making the clean up process cumbersome," a DOT press release states.

Drivers should expect delays through the work zone.

This is an annual litter clean up.

Here is the latest information available Monday on the slaying of five children Saturday in their Graham-area home.

THE INVESTIGATION: Pierce County sheriff’s detectives were refining the timeline of events that led up to the shooting.

Investigators have said the children’s father, 34-year-old James Harrison, killed them before driving to Auburn, where he killed himself. Harrison was upset because his wife, Angela Harrison, said she was leaving him, investigators have said.

Troyer said that, even when the investigation is completed, detectives might not have answers to all the questions about what happened.

“The part that confuses everybody is why take it out on your kids,” Troyer said. “Unfortunately, that’s something we are never going to be able to (figure out). That went with him.”

Investigators have found no notes from Harrison. There was no documented history of domestic violence, and Harrison had only traffic infractions on his record.

Investigators also have found no evidence of intoxication. Toxicology tests to determine whether drugs or alcohol were in Harrison’s system will be part of his autopsy, Troyer said.

Detectives were tracking down information on the weapons and ammunition recovered from the Harrison home. After an initial assessment, investigators believe he owned the guns legally.

SCHOOLS: The flags at the four Orting District schools flew at half staff Monday to honor the five Harrison children. Never before had so many students died at once, said Leon Matz, 58, the head counselor at Orting High School.

The school has endured tragedies before, including a nine-year stretch a few years ago when one student, usually a senior, died each year, he said. Accidents, illness and suicide claimed their young lives.

“But never a family, never a murder,” Matz said. “It’s a huge blow.”

Grief counselors were brought into all schools. Teachers announced the sad news to students in each class, led discussions and answered questions.

Students also could go to a “safe room” if they needed extra time for talking or thinking before returning their classrooms. Eventually, several students used the special room.

TALKING WITH YOUNGSTERS: Orting School District Superintendent Jeff Davis sent home a letter to parents encouraging them to deal with the tragedy with their children.

He urged parents to talk with their children about their feelings. Helpful responses include: “Tell me more about that,” “Have you ever felt that way before?” “What are other students saying or fearing about this?” and “It’s OK to be sad.”

He also encouraged parents to go out and have fun with their children, be active and celebrate life however they can.

SERVICES: No funeral or memorial services for the five children have been announced.

HELPING: Family members have set up a donation account at Wells Fargo to help pay funeral and burial expenses. Donations can be made at any branch to the “Harrison Family Memorial Fund.”

COUNSELING: A crisis debriefing will be conducted Wednesday for the law enforcement officers and first responders who went to the Harrison home Saturday and worked on the investigation.

Sheriff’s chaplain Rick Bulman is considering a crisis counseling session for the residents of the Deer Park Mobile Home Park as well. He stopped by Monday to talk with residents about the idea.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HELP: The killings bring to light the continuing problem and impact of domestic violence.

“It is a really horrific reminder that domestic violence is lethal,” said Kelly Starr of the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence. An abuser who is suicidal has a higher likelihood of being homicidal, the coalition has found.

The spouse, Starr said, may target the couple’s children, friends and other family members for violence as a way to seek revenge or “hurt their partner in the worst possible way.”

Leaving a partner also can trigger a violent outbreak. Abusers want to be in control and when a victim leaves, the abuser loses that control, Starr said. The danger level increases if the abuser has access to weapons.

The coalition offered these warning signs of domestic violence: jealousy, controlling behavior, quick involvement, unrealistic expectations, isolation, blaming others for problems or feelings, hypersensitivity, cruelty to children, cruelty to animals, use of force during sex, verbal abuse, rigid sex roles, past battering, threats of violence, breaking or striking objects, using force during an argument and controlling finances in the relationship.

To get help: Contact the Crystal Judson Family Justice Center, 718 Court E in Tacoma or call the Pierce County domestic violence help line at 253-798-4166 or 1-800-764-2420.

Stacey Mulick: 253-597-8268

Staff writer Mike Archbold contributed to this report.

Doris C. Bolender, principal of Orting High School, is sending a letter home with students today about the weekend killing of five siblings.

Here's the text of the letter:

We have had some very sad news within Orting Schools today. We learned of the death of 5 of our students, 2 children attended Orting Primary school, 2 attended Orting Middle school, and one attended Orting High school. All five students died Saturday April 4th in their home.

Within all Orting schools this morning we had the help of Puget Sound Crisis Response Team and our district counseling staff. Each team helped teachers announce the sad news to the students in each class, lead discussions, and answered factual questions as appropriate. They also staffed a "safe room" for students to go if they needed a little extra time for talking or processing before returning to learning in their classrooms.

When a tragedy like this happens people have all different kinds of reactions, like shock, sadness, fear and anger. Those reactions may rise and fall throughout the day, and even days from now. Below are some suggestions on how to support your child through this difficult time. If you have specific concerns about your child please contact your child's school counselor or principal.

How to support your child:
* This event might bring up questions, concerns or fears for your child
* Be sensitive about whether s/he is needing or wanting to talk
* Bring it up in case s/he is reluctant to do so
* Ask about his/her reactions to this, and accept those feelings as stated! Resist the temptation to minimize the pain, deny the feelings, or give advice. Simply Listen!
* Helpful responses on a parent's part: "Tell me more about that," "Have you ever felt that way before?" "What are other students saying or fearing about this?" "It's OK to be sad"
* Be concrete and brief in your answers, especially with younger children
* Do not compare death with sleep
* Allow for regressive behaviors. Kids might need to sleep close to an adult for a while. Clinging to adults is not uncommon.
* Be especially emotionally available and non judgmental.
* Realize kids move in and out of the grief process, but it is very intense for them when they're experiencing sadness/anxiety/fear. Encourage them to go out and have fun, be active, and celebrate life whatever way they can.
* Remember the importance of humor and laughter.

At this point we do not have specific information about the memorial/funeral arrangements from the family. They are working on setting up a donation center. We will continue to keep you updated as it pertains to supporting our school community through this very difficult time. Information will be shared with students and you may also check our district website.

Thank you for caring about all of our students and families.

Saturday's slaying of five children inside their Graham-area home brings (again) to light the continuing problem of domestic violence in the community.

"It is a really horrific reminder that domestic violence is lethal," said Kelly Starr of the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

The coalition studies domestic violence-related homicides in the state and publishes a report every two years. The coalition believes that domestic violence - no matter what form - should be taken seriously. Not all domestic abuse is physical. It can be more subtle such as controlling the finances and controlling whom the partner can see and when.

The coalition also found that an abuser who is suicidal has a higher likelihood of being homicidal.

Abusers, Starr said, can target their children, friends and other family members for violence as a way to further hurt their victims or to seek revenge. The abuser might try "to figure out how to hurt their partner in the worst possible," Starr said.

Leaving an abusive partner also can trigger a violent outbreak, Starr said. Abusers want to be in control and when a victim leaves, the abuser loses that control. The danger level increases if the abuser has access to weapons.

"That can really escalate things," Starr said.

Starr said there's not always a documented history of domestic abuse when a relationship turns deadly.

"No documented history often doesn't mean no history," Starr said.

According to the coalition, here are some warning signs of domestic violence:

Jealousy, controlling behavior, quick involvement, unrealistic expectations, isolation,
blames others for problems or feelings, hypersensitivity, cruelty to children, cruelty to
animals, use of force during sex, verbal abuse, rigid sex roles, Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde
personality, past battering, threats of violence, breaking or striking objects, using force
during an argument, controlling finances in the relationship

Here are some suggestions for helping someone who might be in an abusive relationship:

· Approach the person in an understanding, non-blaming way.

· Acknowledge that it is scary and difficult to talk about abuse; let the person know that
they do not deserve to be treated this way and that they in no way caused the abuse.

· Support the person as a friend. Be a good listener and do not tell them what to do.
Allow the person to make their own decisions, even if you do not agree with them.
Avoid ultimatums that require them to end the relationship or lose your friendship.
This only results in further isolating them and ultimately gives the abuser even more
control.

· Consider that leaving an abusive relationship is often the most dangerous time for a
victim. It is important to talk with an advocate about safety planning.

· Provide information about where to go for help (call the Washington State Domestic
Violence Hotline at 1-800-562-6025 for local resources).

· Let the person know that they are not alone.

Pierce County prosecutors have charged an 18-year-old Lakewood man with first-degree murder in an apparent gang-related shooting last month.

Superior Court Judge Linda Lee issued a warrant for Damien R. Garza's arrest Friday. Garza remained at large this morning.

Prosecutors contend in charging documents that Garza fatally shot Tyrone M. Tinsley on March 26 in the 5200 block of Solberg Drive Southwest.

Witnesses told police trouble started about 8 p.m. when Tinsley, 34, walked past Garza's house wearing a bandanna in his back pocket symbolizing his membership in a local street gang. Garza belongs to a rival gang, according to court documents.

Garza and several of his friends were in the front yard of the house at the time.

Tinsley reportedly made a derogatory comment about Garza's gang as he passed, the documents state, and Garza and his friends responded with insults of their own.

Tinsley then went to a nearby convenience store, where he bought a beer.

Garza and Tinsley again exchanged insults as Tinsley walked back home, the records state. Garza's brother then approached Tinsley, and the two got into a fistfight, court records state.

There are different versions of what happened next.

Garza and his brother told investigators Tinsley pulled out a meat cleaver at one point, so Garza drew his pistol and shot him.

Other witnesses told police Tinsley discarded the cleaver when Garza and another man jumped into the fistfight and that the victim was not armed when shot.

Police reported that they later found the cleaver in a puddle about 15 feet away from Tinsley's body.

Tinsley suffered gunshot wounds to both sides of his head, his chest and lower back, court documents state.

Garza then fled the scene.

Lakewood police arrested two men in connection with the case last week, but they haven't been charged in the killing.

Prosecutors also have charged Garza with second-degree murder in the killing to give them options during plea bargaining and at trial, should the case make it that far. They also charged him with unlawful possession of a firearm.

Garza also is wanted on a warrant charging him with second-degree assault. Prosecutors contend he was one of a group of gang members who jumped another man in April 2008 and pistol whipped him, leaving him with a broken jaw and missing teeth.

We'll be working again on this weekend's tragic story of the Harrison family. Five kids were killed in their home near Graham and their father is believed to be responsible. He committed suicide Saturday morning in Auburn.

Classmates of the five siblings - James, 7; Heather, 9; Samantha, 12; Jamie, 14; and Maxine, 16 - are returning to school today in Orting. Grief counselors are on hand.

Transportation crews will stop drivers headed westbound across Snoqualmie Pass this afternoon for avalanche control work.

The work is scheduled to take start between noon and 1 p.m. and could last three hours, the state DOT reported this morning.

Westbound drivers will be stopped near the summit. Eastbound drivers will not be impacted.

UPDATE: The work is complete and westbound traffic is moving.

A University Place man was killed when he lost control of his motorcycle and crashed into the median on highway 410 Sunday afternoon.

Domingo D. Cuevas, 29, was riding his 2004 Honda motorcycle westbound on the highway at the highway 162 interchange at 1:05 p.m. Sunday. He lost control, striking the cable barrier on the highway. He was wearing a helmet and had a motorcycle endorsement.

The Washington State Patrol stated the cause of the crash was speed. No other vehicles were involved.

A man wanted in a Kitsap County home-invasion robbery and possible murder could be headed south in a stolen car.

An elderly man walked into his home in the Colchester area east of Port Orchard this afternoon and found his wife dead "with obvious injuries," a Kitsap County Sheriff's Office spokesman told the Kitsap Sun. The couple's white 1993 Cadillac Seville was missing.

The car has a Seattle Sonics sticker on the back with a Washington license plate, number 346-RPP. The man is considered "armed and dangerous."

The suspect is a white man in his 20s or 30s, wearing a blue sweatshirt and a tan baseball hat. Authorities believe he is carrying a .38 Special revolver, according to the Sun. Ferries and Narrows Bridge toll employees were notified, and Tacoma Police were told to lookout for the Cadillac, according to scanner chatter.

Two lanes of westbound Interstate 90 at Snoqualmie Pass have been closed since about noon today, and the backup has been building at a massive rate.

I got to experience it today driving back from Spokane. At about 2 p.m., I was stuck in about 5 miles of backed up traffic near the summit, and that tested my patience. Now, the state Department of Transportation says traffic is backed up about 18 miles. That means travelers are seeing delays of more than 4 hours.

Today's warm weather has caused an avalanche danger, so crews have closed three right lanes of traffic west of the summit.

If you are planning to travel or know someone heading over, be patient. And make sure the car has enough gas.

Pierce County sheriff's deputies on the Peninsula are warning residents about a telephone scam.

Here's the information sent out Friday by the Sheriff's Department:

Residents in the Peninsula Detachment jurisdiction have reported receiving phone calls which appear legitimate at first then result in a request for credit card information.

The automated call portrays a bank or business organization and states there is a problem with the credit card payment made by the target. A request is made for the target to call a toll-free number to resubmit the payment information.

When the target calls the provided toll-free number, a recording prompts the caller to input credit card information. At the moment credit card information is provided, the target is billed per minute for the duration of the call.

We would like to provide the following reminders for residents to avoid becoming victims:

*If you receive a phone call or email which states there is a problem with your account, use information you already have in your possession to contact the affected business rather than using the contact information provided in the communication. This will allow you to verify if the problem is really a problem and you are really contacting the affected business.

*Do not provide bank account information to someone initiating contact with you. You should always be the person initiating contact when you disclose account information to another party.

*If the caller demands immediate action, this is a strong indicator of a scam. Scammers try to pressure targets to act fast removing opportunities for the target to verify information to avoid a scam.

If you lose money because of a scam like this and need to file a report, you can call our non-emergency reporting number at 253-798-4721, option 1, at any time. If you have other questions or information, you can call the Peninsula Detachment office at 253-798-4940 during normal business hours.

SEATTLE -- Three juveniles have pleaded guilty to killing Edward McMichael also known as "Tuba Man," said King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg, KIRO TV reported today.

Two 16-year-olds and one 15-year-old boy pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the first-degree.

Satterberg said they would never have solved the case unless the three teens admitted their role in it. Satterberg said because of their willingness to plead guilty, they will serve time, but in juvenile detention.

Police said 53-year-old Edward McMichael was beaten and robbed by a group of teenagers Saturday, Oct. 25, 2008, near the Seattle Center.

McMichael was treated and released from Harborview Medical Center but died nine days later from his injuries suffered in the assault.

On the night of the assault, a West Precinct Anti-Crime officer saw McMichael lying on the ground with five juveniles assaulting him, Seattle police said.

The teens fled, but officers were able to catch two of them. Later a third suspect was arrested in Seattle.

In a statement from McMichael's family, they said they support the decision of the King County's prosecutors 100 percent.

The teens will be sentenced later this month.

I ran across a story on one of the investigative journalism blogs I read that seemed worth passing along.

KCTV5 News in Kansas City did an investigation which showed many of the local locksmith listings in the phone book and online were out-of-state companies which charged a lot more money than local companies.

When "Kansas City locksmith" is searched on Google, more than 3,900 different listings appear. The KCTV5 News investigations team tracked down several of them and found they are bogus.

One locksmith address comes back to a grassy lot next to the Blue Valley School District headquarters. Another turns out be a house in Fairway. And one address listed is actually an AT&T building.

Crews are conducting avalanche control work on the eastbound side of Interstate 90 this afternoon.

Eastbound drivers are stopped near Denny Creek, five miles west of the summit, DOT reported at 1:20 p.m.today. Westbound drivers are not affected.

The length of the closure is unknown. Avalanche control work can take 20 minutes to two hours to complete.

UPDATE: The avalanche control work is done and the eastbound lanes are reopened.

The children of murder victim Joseph Tarricone called their father's killer "an empty shell of a person" this morning before he was sentenced to life in prison for shooting Tarricone in the back of the head and dismembering his body with a chain saw more than 30 years ago.

"He's shown no remorse," the victim's son, Dean Tarricone, told Superior Court Judge Kitty-Ann van Doorninck.

Nicholas Notaro, 60, didn't do anything to dispel that notion. The 60-year-old man declined to speak before his sentencing, deferring to the comments of his attorney, public defender Mary K. High.

High told van Doorninck her client had offered to plead guilty at one point, an offer prosecutors refused. A jury convicted him of first-degree murder in February.

"I believe Ms. High has said everything that needs to be said, your honor," Notaro said.

Van Doorninck had no choice but to sentence Notaro to life, as that was the punishment prescribed for a first-degree murder conviction back in 1978 when the crime was committed. The law has been rewritten since. A sentence for first-degree murder now is anywhere from 20 years to life.

The judge agreed with the assessment of Tarricone's family that Notaro appeared not to be sorry about the 53-year-old man's death and said she found it "offensive to the court" that Notaro lied on the witness stand during his sister's trial on the same charge.

"I didn't see any indication of remorse from you," van Doorninck said. "This family's been through hell for 30 years."

A different jury convicted Notaro's sister, Renee Curtiss, earlier this week of first-degree murder in Tarricone's death. She faces sentencing on April 24 and presumably life in prison like her brother.

Deputy prosecutor Dawn Farina, who prosecuted both cases, convinced the juries that Notaro shot Tarricone at the request of Curtiss, who'd grown tired of Tarricone's romantic advances. Curtiss, 55, had dated the victim for a time when they both lived in Alaska.

Evidence presented at trial suggested Notaro and Curtiss cut up Tarricone's body, buried it in the yard of a house outside Puyallup and lied about the incident until 2007, when a construction crew unwittingly unearthed the remains while clearing a lot of a strip mall.

Farina called it a "horrific crime."

Tarricone's daughter, Gina Chavez, told van Doorninck today that her father was a good man and that Notaro deprived her and her family of his love and support.

"I miss him every day," Chavez said.

Tacoma police have arrested one person and were looking for others in connection with a double shooting earlier this week inside a Salishan apartment.

A 29-year-old mother was killed and her 23-year-old boyfriend seriously injured in the shooting. They were found just after 4 a.m. Tuesday inside an apartment on the top floor of a four-plex at the corner of East 26th and R streets.

The Pierce County Medical Examner's Office has yet to release the woman's name, saying they've been unable to notify her family of her death.

The suspect, a 24-year-old woman, was booked into Pierce County Jail on Thursday night on suspicion of first-degree murder and first-degree assault. She also had warrants for her arrest in unrelated drug and driving cases.

"We are still looking to talk to more people," Tacoma police spokesman Mark Fulghum said.

Detectives identified woman as a suspect in the shooting through interviews with the surviving victims and others who had been in the Salishan apartment in the hours before the shooting. The woman's alleged involvement in the shooting wasn't immediately released.

However, Fulghum said detectives believe the victims and those suspected of being involved in the shooting were all acquainted.

Detectives distributed information about the woman and her picture to local law enforcement agencies Thursday afternoon, Fulghum said. A Pierce County sheriff's deputy pulled the bulletin up on his mobile computer.

Moments later, the woman walked out of a nearby store.

"He recognized her from the bulletin," Fulghum said. "It was a great job by the deputy."

The woman was questioned, then booked into jail.

UPDATE:

In court this afternoon, prosecutors requested the woman be held for 72 hours while Tacoma police detectives investigate further.

A judge ordered her held in Pierce County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail in connection with the homicide.

Pierce County prosecutors have filed charges against a 35-year-old man who's suspected of drinking and driving and trying to elude a Washington State Patrol trooper early Wednesday.

Court documents provide the following account:

The trooper was monitoring speeds of southbound drivers on Interstate 5 at milepost 139 just after 2 a.m. Wednesday. The trooper clocked a vehicle going 85 mph in the 60 mph zone.

The trooper caught up to the vehicle and activated the patrol car's emergency lights. The driver put on his emergency blinkers but did not move to the right shoulder.

After about a half-mile, the driver pulled over. The trooper parked behind the car but the driver quickly put his car in gear and sped off, squealing his tires in the process.

The driver crossed the gore point at the exit ramp, got back onto I-5 and made several lane changes without signaling. He also cut off other drivers. The trooper estimated the driver was going 90 mph.

The driver lost control while trying to negotiate a curve at the Port of Tacoma exit. The car stopped and the driver ran off.

The trooper yelled at the driver to get on the ground but the man kept running. Officers from another law enforcement agency arrested the man.

The trooper contacted the man, later identified as Larry Bennett Turner Jr., and smelled a "very strong odor of intoxicants" on his breath, court documents state.

The man refused to perform field sobriety tests. He submitted to one breath test, which resulted in a BAC of .110. When asked how much he'd had to drink, Turner said, "ten years."

Prosecutors on Thursday charged Turner with attempting to elude, drunken driving, obstructing a police officer and driving with a suspended license.

WSDOT photo

A collision is blocking the two left lanes of southbound Interstate 5 in Federal Way.

The state Department of Transportation said the lanes, near the highway 18 interchange, closed at about 4:25 p.m. Traffic is backed up about four miles to South 272nd Street.

Pierce County prosecutors have decided not to file charges against a boater suspected of hitting and seriously injuring a teen kayaking on American Lake last month.

"There is no felony behavior," deputy prosecutor Tim Jones said today.

He noted there was no evidence of intoxication or excessive speed on the part of the boater who crashed into 14-year-old David Kenny "D.K." Ross the afternoon of March 1. Investigators have also said there was no evidence the boater intentionally hit the teenager.

Jones will be referring the case to the City of Lakewood's attorneys to decide whether to file misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor charges or cite the boater for watercraft violations.

Ross has been hospitalized since the accident.

A fisherman found the teen unconscious in the water and brought him to shore. Medics rushed Ross to Madigan Army Medical Center with a ruptured spleen, broken ribs and large gash in his head. He's since been transferred to Mary Bridge Children's Hospital and Health Center, where he's undergoing treatment and further surgeries.

Lakewood police initially said the boater have fled the scene. Later that week, Lakewood police revealed they had identified the boater believed to be responsible. Their investigation found the boater hadn't left the scene after all.

Ross' family has told one Seattle television station the boater is the same fisherman who claimed to have found Ross. Lakewood police have declined to confirm the report. Jones on Thursday also declined to identify the boater, noting "he's still a suspect in a possible criminal case."

In determining whether to file criminal charges, Jones said he read through a binder from Lakewood police. The information include a report from the police department's boat accident investigator, who is certified to conduct accident reconstruction.

That report included information on the speed, profile of Ross' kayak on the water, the weather conditions and the chop on the water, Jones said. It also provided detail on what part of Ross' kayak was damaged, where and how.

Tacoma police are searching for a man who robbed a Sixth Avenue bank branch Thursday morning.

They also were looking into the possibility the bandit is the same man who robbed a Hilltop Key Bank branch earlier this week, Tacoma police spokesman Mark Fulghum said.

The most recent heist was just after 11:20 a.m. Thursday at Washington Mutual, 6616 Sixth Ave. The robber handed a teller a note that demanded cash. He implied he had a weapon but none was seen, Fulghum said.

After getting an undisclosed amount of cash, the robber ran from the bank. Witnesses reported seeing a suspicious dark-colored, newer SUV in the area at the time of the heist.

Officers searched the area but did not find the bandit, Fulghum said.

The bank robber was described as black, in his 20s and 5 feet 8 to 5 feet 10 with a thin build. He had black hair and wore a black hooded jacket, blue jeans and gray beanie with a bill.

Tacoma police detectives were investigating whether the same man is responsible for Tuesday's robbery at Key Bank, 1120 S. 11th St. In that case, the robber entered the branch at 11:25 a.m., handed a teller a robbery note and fled with an undisclosed amount of cash.

A newer dark-colored SUV also was seen leaving the area right after that bank robbery. In that incident, the robber wore a white hooded jacket, black baseball hat and dark blue jeans.

Tacoma-Pierce County Crime Stoppers is offering up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest and charges filed in the case. Tipsters may remain anonymous.

Reach Crime Stoppers at 253-591-5959.

Tipsters also can submit anonymous information to the Tacoma Police Department here.

The man who planted the fake bomb that disrupted business in Fife earlier this week now is charged with a felony.

Pierce County prosecutors on Wednesday charged Clifford Robert Colon, 30, with one count of second-degree malicious placement of an imitation device. That's a Class C felony, which is punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Colon pleaded not guilty in Superior Court and was released on his own recognizance pending the resolution of his case. A trial date has been set for June 16.

A busy street in Fife was closed for several hours Tuesday and at least three businesses – including Costco – were evacuated after a FedEx driver discovered a small device near Costco that was "chirping" and had the words, "Bomb – You're Dead," written on it.

Colon told investigators he placed the fake bomb on a friend's car as part of a game in which the players try to "kill" each other through imaginary means.

The device, which was attached to the car by a magnet, apparently fell off in the parking lot of Costco, where the friend works. The intended target told police he never saw the fake bomb on his car.

Local and federal law enforcement agencies – including the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives – were called to the scene to investigate. Technicians with the Port of Seattle Bomb Disposal Unit eventually destroyed the device using a robot.

Colon turned himself in to police after learning about the hubbub through news accounts, according to court documents.

"The defendant said that the intent in playing the game was to 'escape from our boring lives,' and he said he never meant for any of the resulting circumstances to happen," deputy prosecutor Lisa Wagner wrote in charging documents.

Tacoma police were searching Wednesday night for a man who robbed a cellphone store.

The robbery occurred just after 9:20 p.m. The bandit entered the business at 1303 S. 56th Street, police reported.

He was armed with a weapon and robbed the owner. The robber was last seen going northbound.

Officers searched the area but did not find the robber.

Pierce County sheriff's deputies are searching for a 61-year-old man who has not returned to his Spanaway home after telling his family he was going to Ocean Shores.

Gordon C. Smart (pictured here) was last seen March 21 when he left his Spanaway home in his 1975 Dodge Tioga motorhome, Washington license plate 724-WBU, the Sheriff's Department reported.

There's been no activity on his cell phone or bank accounts.

Family members reported him missing, noting his disappearance was out of character. Smart is the primary caregiver for his 86-year-old mother, deputies reported.

The Sheriff's Department alerted the public to the disappearance Wednesday.

Smart is white, 5 feet 8 and 180 pounds. He had brown/gray hair, blue eyes and wears glasses, deputies reported.

Anyone with information is asked to call authorities.

Lakewood police have arrested two men in the shooting death of a 34-year-old man outside a mini-mart last month.

The two men, ages 20 and 22, were booked into Pierce County Jail shortly after 11 p.m. Wednesday on suspicion of first-degree murder. They are scheduled to make their first court appearance this afternoon. The News Tribune is not naming the men until they've been charged with a crime.

Lakewood detectives are searching for a third man in connection with the homicide, Lakewood Lt. Dave Guttu said. Other arrests could be made as the investigation continues.

Tyrone Tinsley was shot and killed after he left the McChord Mart in the 5200 block of Solberg Drive about 8 p.m. March 26.

Witnesses told investigators the deadly shooting was "all about colors," meaning it was gang motivated, Guttu said. The victim and suspects are believed to have belonged to rival gang

The suspects were identified through the investigation, Guttu said. Tacoma Police Department's gang unit was "instrumental" in tracking down the two suspects Wednesday night, Guttu said. Tacoma's gang officers found the men, then called Lakewood detectives, who took the men into custody.

UPDATE: Pierce County prosecutors have decided not to charge the two men pending further investigation.

One of them is scheduled to be released from jail later today. The other will remain in custody on an unrelated probation violation.

A Pierce County jury wasted little time today in convicting a woman charged in the 1978 death of an Alaskan man whose dismembered remains were found by construction workers outside Puyallup nearly two years ago.

Jurors got the first-degree murder case against Renee Ray Curtiss about noon. They returned their verdict about 3:30 p.m.: Guilty as charged.

Curtiss, who had been out on bail during her trial, appeared stunned as sheriff's deputies led her to the Pierce County Jail to await her April 24 sentencing.

Relatives of victim Joseph Tarricone smiled and exchanged hugs and handshakes with detectives and deputy prosecutor Dawn Farina after the jury was excused.

Farina contended in her closing argument this morning that Curtiss, 55, was guilty as an accomplice because she solicited her brother, Nicholas Notaro, to kill Tarricone. The deputy prosecutor said Curtiss had grown annoyed with Tarricone's romantic advances and wanted him out of her life. A different jury convicted Notaro, 60, of first-degree murder in February. He's to be sentenced Friday. Both he and his sister face at least 20 years in prison.

"She was the link between Joseph Tarricone and Nicholas Notaro," the deputy prosecutor told jurors. "She had the motive to kill Joseph Tarricone. Curtiss wished Tarricone would go away or disappear."

Curtiss testified during trial that she helped her brother cut up Tarricone's body with a chain saw to make it easier to carry and disposed of the murder weapon, but she denied asking her brother to kill her ex-boyfriend and denied being present when Tarricone died. Notaro also testified on his sister's behalf and tried to take full responsibility for the crime.

Curtiss' defense attorney, Gary Clower, said during his closing argument that his client is guilty of lying about the whereabouts of Tarricone for nearly 30 years and maybe for even helping dispose of his body.

But, Clower argued, prosecutors presented no evidence that his client solicited Tarricone's murder. She wasn't been charged with disposing of Tarricone's body or covering up the crime, he pointed out.

"The crime charged here is murder, not anything else you think she might have done, but murder," he said.

Farina countered that the evidence showed Curtiss' story to be unbelievable, including the fact that she told detectives that she couldn't recall if she was in the house when Tarricone was murdered.

"Who would not remember if they were present for a murder?" the deputy prosecutor said.

Tarricone, a father of seven, was 53 when he disappeared in the later summer or early fall of 1978 after traveling from Alaska to Seattle to visit Curtiss, who once dated Tarricone and allegedly had grown tired of his repeated attempts to win her back and wanted him "gone," according to court documents.

Notaro admitted to shooting Tarricone in the back of the head in the basement of a house Curtiss shared with their mother off Canyon Road then burying his body in the yard.

The body lay there undiscovered until crews clearing the lot for a strip mall unwittingly dug up Tarricone's remains in June 2007, setting off an investigation that led to Notaro and Curtiss, being charged with murder.

State Department of Fish and Wildlife officer Jeff Summit investigates the scene of a fox found killed and displayed near Camp 6 in Point Defiance Park. (Peter Haley/The News Tribune)

Metro Parks officials are asking visitors to Point Defiance Park to call 911 if they see any suspicious activity toward wildlife after a fox was killed and found dead this morning.

Witnesses should tell dispatchers they are reporting a "potential wildlife crime at Point Defiance Park" when they call 911, according to a press release from Metro Parks. Visitors should not confront the individuals involved.

Visitors who find an animal injured by unnatural causes are asked not to disturb the scene and to report the location to Metro Parks at 253-305-1024.

"We share the public's strong interest in catching the person committing these crimes," said Department of Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Officer Jeff Summit in a press release from Metro Parks.

Park walkers found the dead fox Wednesday morning across from Camp Six. It appeared the fox had been shot with a pellet gun. An officer with the Department of Fish and Wildlife responded and investigated the scene.

"The (Fish and Wildlife) officer said that it was definitely intentional," Metro Parks spokeswoman Nancy Johnson said. "It does not appear to be accidental in nature."

The killing is not the first in the park. In early February, park staff and visitors found six dead raccoons along Five Mile Drive. Each had been shot twice in the head with a pellet gun.

The Department of Fish and Wildlife, Metro Parks, the Tacoma Police Department and the city's Animal Control division are investigating. The person responsible could face criminal and civil charges.

Park and police officials remind residents that it's against municipal code to feed wildlife in any city park. Feeding the wildlife human food can be unhealthy for them and put their safety in danger. It attracts them away from their natural habitat, Johnson said.

A Pierce County jury convicted Douglas S. Chanthabouly today of second-degree murder in the shooting death of Samnang Kok in a hallway of Tacoma's Foss High School two years ago.

Jurors rejected the arguments of Chanthabouly's defense lawyers that their client, who has paranoid schizophrenia, was legally insane at the time of the shooting.

Chanthabouly did not react when the verdict was read. The jury deliberated for four days before reaching the decision.

Chanthabouly, 20, faces a standard sentencing range of 15 years, three months to 23 years, four months in prison. However, prosecutors might seek an expectional sentence above the standard range because jurors found an aggravating factor - that the crime had a foreseeable impact on others besides the victim. Prosecutors did not say today whether they will seek an exceptional sentence but they will consider it.

Chanthabouly faced commitment to the state psychiatric hospital near Lakewood if acquitted by reason of insanity.

Public defender John McNeish said that he and colleague John Chin were disappointed with the verdict.

"An appeal will be filed," McNeish said. "We'll see what the Court of Appeals says."

Jurors left the County-City Building without commenting to the attorneys and reporters.

Kok, 17, died Jan. 3, 2007, after Chanthabouly shot him once in the face and twice more in the body in the 300 hallway of the school.

Detectives never determined a motive for the shooting although prosecutors presented evidence during his two-week trial that Chanthabouly may have harbored animosity toward someone named "Sam."

That evidence came in the form of a class assignment in which Chanthabouly wrote about a "sludge face named Sam" who was "going to live in dirt forever."

Mental-health experts who examined Chanthabouly after his arrest agreed that he probably was suffering delusions the day of the shooting and thought Kok was the member of a street gang out to hurt him and his brother.

One of those experts, state psychologist Julie Gallagher, testified during trial that Chanthabouly still knew it was wrong to kill Kok. Defense attorneys had tried to convince the jury that their client did not know the difference between right and wrong at the time, which would have met the legal definition of insanity.

Prosecutors charged Chanthabouly with first- and second-degree murder, allowing jurors to decide whether Kok's slaying was premeditated.

(Submitted by staff writer Adam Lynn)

Lakewood police are searching for two men suspected of beating up and holding a woman hostage for 13 hours last month in a domestic violence-related attack.

Prosecutors have charged Cortlandt Young, 26, and Devan Hopson, 21, in connection with the assault and kidnapping. Young (left) has been charged with first-degree kidnapping and two counts of second-degree assault. Hopson (right) has been charged with three counts of second-degree assault.

Warrants have been issued for their arrest.

According to Lakewood police, Young is suspected of assaulting his ex-girlfriend the night of March 6. During the attack, he threatened to shoot up her house, police reported.

Young left but returned an hour later. He allegedly pointed a gun at the woman and pulled her into a car driven by Hopson, police reported.

"Inside the car, Young hit the victim with his fists and the gun, and choked the victim," police reported.

The men took the woman to Young's apartment and held her at gunpoint for 13 hours. The victim was able to escape when Young fell asleep, police reported.

Hopson then allegedly returned to the woman's house, looking for her. He had a gun and pointed it at the woman's family before leaving in a car driven by Young, police reported.

Young is 6 feet 1 and 175 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. Hopson is 6 feet and weighs 170 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.

The jury deliberating in the Foss High School murder trial has apparently reached a verdict.

The verdict will be read at 2 p.m.

Tacoma police have released surveillance images of a man suspected of robbing a Hilltop bank branch on Tuesday.

The images were released today. In addition, Tacoma-Pierce County Crime Stoppers announced it is offering a reward to get the bandit into custody.

The robber entered Key Bank, 1120 S. 11th St., about 11:25 a.m. Tuesday. He approached the counter and showed the teller a note that demanded cash, police reported.

He placed his finger on his lips in a shushing gesture. The robber put an undisclosed amount of cash into his pockets and ran. He was last seen heading northbound, heading across the street, police reported.

Moments later, a newer black Dodge Durango was seen driving away from the area. It's not known if the vehicle is related but it was described as suspicious, police reported.

The robber is described as black, 5 feet 10 and 160 pounds. He had black hair, brown eyes and sported a goatee. During the robbery, he wore a white hooded jacket with black across the shoulders, dark blue jeans and a black baseball hat with white writing.

Officers and detectives responded to the area but the robber was not located.

Crime Stoppers is offering up to $1,000 for information leading to the robber's arrest and charges filed in the case. Tipsters may remain anonymous.

Reach Crime Stoppers at 253-591-5959. Tipsters also can submit anonymous information to the Tacoma Police Department here.

I spotted this today and wondered whether it was a meditation on the Buddhist concept of 'anatta' or not-self.

Local law enforcement officers arrested 59 youths on suspicion of alcohol-related violations after busting four underage drinking parties during a special Spring Break emphasis patrol last weekend.

In addition, eight adults were cited on suspicion of furnishing alcohol to minors at the parties in Sumner, Puyallup and Gig Harbor. The arrested youths ranged from 15 to 20 years old, Pierce County reported.

At a Key Peninsula party, police officers requested emergency medical aid for an 18-year-old girl who who had a preliminary blood alcohol level of .257. She was taken to a local hospital for treatment of potential alcohol poisoning. The girl had been at a party with 31 underage drinkers, the county reported.

Police officials say the emphasis patrols are intended to halt weekend parties that might be deadly for underage drinkers.

"Deadly games designed to promote drinking large amounts of alcohol, such as Beer Bong, can lead to an overdose quickly," Gig Harbor police Sgt. Kelly Busey said in a press release.

During the special patrol, officers got a search warrant to enter a Puyallup rental home. They found four adults suspected of supplying alcohol to underage drinkers, the county reported.

"The renters had just moved in at 4 p.m. on Saturday," the press release states. "The search warrant was served at 4 a.m. Sunday, and the renters had been evicted by Monday afternoon. A mattress, the only furniture in the home, was found by police, along with recently-used condoms."

As part of the emphasis patrol, the arrested youth were given the chance to speak with a chemical dependency professional at one of two community centers. Of the 59 arrested, 58 youths spoke with a professional.

Party Patrol volunteers also gave the 20 parents who came to pick up their children information about teen alcohol use and prevention.

Saturday's patrol included 32 law enforcement officers from the Gig Harbor, Fife, Puyallup, Sumner, Bonney Lake, Edgewood, Orting and University Place police departments, the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, the Washington State Liquor Control Board and the Washington State Patrol. Ten community and police volunteers and four chemical dependency professionals also participated.

It's been snowing off and on this morning in Tacoma and the surrounding communities.

That's no joke.

There is compact snow and ice on Snoqualmie Pass. Traction tires are advised for drivers heading east AND west on Interstate 90 through the pass.

A 17-year-old boy was seriously injured Tuesday night when his car crashed and rolled over in the Black Diamond area, the King County Sheriff's Office reported today.

The Black Diamond teen was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for treatment.

The one-car accident occurred in the 31000 block of Southeast Black Diamond-Ravensdale Road, deputies reported. The boy was driving a 2000 Dodge Neon westbound. The road curves to the left and the Neon drifted off the road, onto the shoulder and down the embankment.

The car hit a large tree, then rolled over. The car came to rest upside down, deputies reported.

"Detectives have no reason to believe drugs or alcohol were involved," the Sheriff's Office reported. "Excessive speed does appear to be a factor in the crash however."

There are no riots going on at the Northwest Detention Center on the Tacoma Tideflats.

A cluster of articles at the Tacoma Website for Students for a Democratic Society appear to be an April Fool's gag. The site frequently features news about the detention center, which groups associated with the site have opposed for various reasons, including human rights and environmental concerns.

The giveaways: quotes from "Tiffany Lizealot," supposedly a spokeswoman for the GEO Group, the private company that runs the facility. (Lies a lot, get it?)

Also: it also quotes "barista Lorie Dankers" -- Lori Dankers (no e) is a spokeswoman for the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. She is frequently quoted in real stories about the detention center.

Here's the post:

Riot at NWDC*
Posted April 1st, 2009 by Anonymous
in

*SDS is unable to confirm the accuracy of this post as of 7:35am*

Jesus Cervantes-Corona
AFD Newswire
TACOMA. WA
On April 1st, some 1,200 detainees staged an uprising at the privately run Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington, to demand better medical treatment after a detainee died at the facility, allegedly of natural causes. The Northwest Detention Center has been functioning since 2004 and is owned and operated by the GEO Group, based in Boca Raton, Florida, under contract with the federal government.

=> Read more!

A 68-year-old Lakewood man was killed early today when he was hit by his own van while working on it at a gas station.

The incident occurred at a gas station located at the corner of Berkeley Street Southwest and Union Avenue Southwest just after midnight, Lakewood police Lt. Dave Guttu said.

The man was in front of the van when, for an unknown reason, the vehicle rolled over him and knocked him to the ground, Guttu said.

"He was pinned underneath for quite a while," he said.

The man died at the scene. Lakewood patrol officers responded and conferred with detectives about the investigation, Guttu said. The man's death is being investigated as accidental.

The van was taken as evidence. Investigators will be checking over the van to see if a mechanical failure prompted it to roll over the man, Guttu said.

"We were told the emergency brake didn't work," he said.