A noncommissioned officer died Tuesday at Fort Lewis after physical training.

The officer was playing football with his unit when he collapsed on the sidelines, according to a Fort Lewis release. Emergency crews and Madigan Army Medical Center personnel treated him at the scene and moved him to the medical center, where he died.

The officer’s name and unit were not released.

A multiple-vehicle collision is blocking the left and right lanes of southbound I-5 at 288th Street in Federal Way.

The collision happened at about 6:25 p.m. Emergency crews are on the scene. No injuries have been reported.

UPDATE: All lanes are open.

In case you noticed a difference in air traffic today, the center runway at Sea-Tac International Airport has been closed this afternoon.

Airport spokesman Perry Cooper said crews discovered a hole in the south end of the runway and are working to patch it. Air traffic is using the third runway, causing a shift in the routes planes are using in the air.

No delays have been reported. The center runway should be up and running by about 4:50 p.m.

A Pierce County man pleaded guilty last week to unsavory acts at a Lakewood bikini barista stand.

According to a prosecutor's affidavit:

Robert Kenneth Price, 49, exposed and manipulated himself in front of three different baristas at the Hot Chick-a-Latte drive-thru a total of 13 times over four days in January.

"On two occasions, he was driven by his wife," the charging documents say. "He also showed one barista a picture of his penis on his cell phone and asked her what she thought about it."

Then, on Jan. 7, after an alleged incident, one of the barista's mothers followed him home and documented his license plate allowing police to catch up with him.

Police said Price admitted to exposing himself "three or four" times, including once when his wife was at the wheel. She also told police she had seen one of his displays.

Price has a history of sex crime convictions in other states, the affidavit says.

Records show he pleaded guilt to two counts of indecent exposure. The charge has a standard sentencing range of 33-43 months; online court records showed he was scheduled to be sentenced in August. Price was being held in the Pierce County jail Tuesday evening.

(Photo: randomduck)

As we hit fireworks season hard over the next several days (and as the weather continues to shine and make conditions ripe for wildfires), the state Fire Marshal's Office is reminding people to be safe with their fireworks.

If not, fires and injuries can result. Here are some stats about fireworks-related incidents from 2008.

There were 785 fireworks-related incidents in the state. Those caused $200,000 in property damage.

There were 518 fires sparked by fireworks during the Fourth of July holiday.

While fireworks can be legally set off in some areas, there are consequences for setting off fireworks where they are prohibited or tampering with the explosives.

"Consequences range from being charged with malicious mischief to assault or a gross misdemeanor for possession of illegal explosive devices such as fireworks that have been tampered with or altered," the Fire Marshal's Office reported in a press release. "A gross misdemeanor can bring a fine of up to $5,000 and/or one year in prison. Possession of illegal explosive devices, such as M-80's, M-100's and larger, altered fireworks, and public display mortars, is a federal offense."

If a wildland fire is started by a firework, the person responsible can be on the hook to pay the fire suppression costs, which can end up in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The Fire Marshal's Office also wants to remind people that fireworks sold on tribal lands might not be legal in their communities.

"Examples of fireworks legal to purchase and use on tribal lands, but not legal in Washington State, are bottle rockets, firecrackers and missiles," the office reported.

Tacoma firefighters and police are on scene of a crash on State Route 509 at Alexander Avenue.

A motorcycle and truck are involved in the crash shortly after noon. Two people might have been injured.

It sounds like the accident is blocking traffic.

UPDATE: Tacoma police traffic officers investigated this incident. However, it was NOT serious enough to call out the fatality accident team, police spokesman Mark Fulghum said.

The Division II Court of Appeals has affirmed the convictions of a Tacoma man found guilty of shooting a teenager to death near a downtown all-ages club three years ago.

The panel rejected arguments from Verrick V. Yarbrough that he did not receive a fair trial. Yarbrough appealed his first-degree murder conviction in the death of Rhaczio Simms in July 2006 (click here to read the full opinion).

Yarbrough contended that Superior Court Judge Vicki Hogan improperly allowed evidence about his reported gang ties into the trial, among other things.

Prosecutors argued that Yarbrough took part in Sims' murder because the victim associated with a rival gang.

A jury agreed and convicted Yarbrough, who subsequently was sentenced to 60 years in prison.

TNT staff writer Sean Robinson's story on the sentencing follows:

=> Read more!

More than 150 participants in Friday night's third annual March Against Crime.

A rally and march were held from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Friday in the South End of Tacoma. Members of 17 Safe Streets and neighborhood groups participated.

"This successful March was made possible by you all," Safe Streets mobilizer Darren Pen wrote in an e-mail. "Again, we did it."

Another march is planned for late summer.

Darren sent these two photos from the event.

Law enforcement officers have taken a suspected bank robber into custody after the man was holed up inside a Fife bank with up a bag that he said contains an explosive device.

KOMO carried a live video feed of the arrest. The man had come out of the bank, had his hands raised and was taken into custody without further incident.

The Pierce County Sheriff's and Tacoma Police bomb squads worked to remove the suspicious bag. The bag was disrupted and investigators found only towels and other personal belongings inside. The stolen money also was recovered.

The 41-year-old suspect was being interviewed by detectives and will be booked into Pierce County Jail on robbery charges. Investigators believe he lost his job last week and was a gambler. He also had suicidal thoughts, Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said. Investigators were trying to track down the man's family.

No injuries were reported during the incident.

All employees of the Bank of America and any customers inside at the time of the robbery have been evacuated, Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said. None were injured.

Troyer said the incident began around 10:15 a.m. when the man walked into the branch in the 5000 block of Pacific Highway East. He carried a bag and told tellers he had a bomb. He demanded money.

The robber got an undisclosed amount of cash, then something went sideways, Troyer said. The bank robber started acting strangely and remained in the bank.

Bank employees called police. Fife officers evacuated the bank except for the robber.

Surrounding businesses also were evacuated and the streets were closed off to traffic. Fife police had the bank surrounded. Puyallup and Tacoma police as well as Pierce County sheriff's deputies responded.

More than an hour later, Fife officers were able to talk the man outside, where he was taken into custody without further incident.

"We're lucky this thing ended the way it did," Troyer said. "It could have sure turned out differently."

The state Department of Transportation briefly closed the off-ramps from southbound and northbound Interstate 5 to 54th Avenue due to police activity.

Investigators do not believe the suspect is the same man who robbed a Tacoma bank branch on Friday evening, Troyer said.

Photo courtesy of Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer.

PREVIOUS POSTS ARE BELOW:

=> Read more!

Pierce County prosecutors have filed charges against one man suspected of stabbing a homeowner during an interrupted burglary earlier this month in Tacoma.

William G. Bergquist, 45, was charged Monday with first-degree assault in connection with the June 20 incident.

Court documents provide the following information:

A homeowner told police he heard a noise in the alleyway behind his house in the 4500 block of South Thompson Avenue early on June 20. He went to investigate and saw a man near the garage and another man.

The homeowner asked the two what they were doing. Bergquist tried to punch the homeowner and threw a sheet at him.

The homeowner struck Bergquist. The second man, who hasn't been identified, got into a scuffle with the homeowner. Bergquist, meanwhile, got to his feet and reportedly stabbed the homeowner.

The two attackers fled in a gray truck. The victim provided officers with a description of the knife.

The victim was stabbed under his left arm pit and underwent surgery.

Officers found the sheet that had been thrown at the victim.

"The sheet was cut in the shape of a triangle and bore the handwritten inscription 'CAPT SAV-A-HO,'" court documents state.

The victim identified Bergquist as one of his attackers. Bergquist, who is under state Department of Corrections supervision, was arrested Friday. He had a knife that matched the description provided by the victim.

A multiple vehicle crash is blocking both lanes of northbound State Route 167 at 24th Street East near Sumner this morning.

Paramedics are on the scene, the state DOT reports.

Troopers are headed to the scene.

UPDATE at 9:01 a.m.: The crash has been cleared and both lanes are now open to traffic.

South King Fire & Rescue investigators are looking into an overnight fire at a vacant duplex in Federal Way.

Fire crews were notified of the blaze at 29013 28th Place S. just after midnight Monday. Flames covered about 50 percent of the duplex when firefighters arrived at the scene, the South King Fire & Rescue department reported.

No occupants were living inside at the time. Fire crews got the blaze out within 30 minutes.

Investigators believe the fire started outside of the building.

Firefighters returned to the duplex shortly after 1 a.m. for an apparent flare up.

Tacoma police report a relative quiet Taste of Tacoma event last weekend at Point Defiance Park.

Officers made one arrest Saturday, Tacoma police spokesman Mark Fulghum said. In addition, more than 30 people were banned because of suspected gang affiliations and actions. They'd reportedly tried to stir up a fight, left the venue to further their efforts and then tried to come back inside, Fulghum said.

The Kent woman who was reported missing last Wednesday was found in Tacoma, police said.

Tina Williams was found at about 8 p.m. in the 1100 block of Tacoma Avenue South. She was in good medical condition, but was taken to a hospital as a precaution.

After she was reported missing, police added her name into a state and national crime information system, which helped Tacoma Police find and identify her, Kent police said.

A federal judge on Monday sentenced a Mexican national convicted of trafficking methamphetamine in Western Washington to more than seven years in prison.

Herminio Barragan Mendoza, 36, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute meth and being an alien in possession of a firearm. He faces deportation following his prison term.

Federal prosecutors said Mendoza lived in Olympia and owned a farm near Roy at the time of his arrest.

He was one of 22 people arrested in April 2008 following a lengthy police investigation. More than 300 law enforcement officers served 20 search warrants and seized meth, guns and cash in raids in multiple counties.

Federal prosecutors said Mendoza was one of the leaders of the trafficking ring, and assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Thomas asked Monday for a 10-year term for him.

Mendoza's defense attorney, Phil Brennan of Seattle, asked for a sentence just short of six years, saying his client had no prior convictions and that the government's claims that he was a leader of the ring were dubious. Mendoza lived in a rented house and drove used cars, Brennan argued in court documents.

U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin Settle settled on a sentence of seven years, four months. The judge also ordered Mendoza to forfeit his Roy farm to the government.

A federal jury today found a Canadian citizen guilty of helping his half-brother steal nearly $3 million in merchandise from the U.S. government, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Seattle reported.

The jury, seated in Tacoma, deliberated for about 10 hours following a three-week trial before convicting Bradley A.G. Garner of wire fraud, theft of honest services, mail fraud and unlawful monetary transaction.

Garner, 51, faces up to 20 years in prison when he’s sentenced on Sept. 28.

A grand jury indicted Garner and Steven B. Smith, a former technician with the Federal Aviation Administration, in February.

Federal prosecutors contend that Smith used his position to steal nearly $3 million in public property, including boats, computers and an airplane.

He’s pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to go to trial in October.

Prosecutors accuse Smith of putting illegitimate claims on surplus government property, which Garner then picked up for the pair to either use or sell.

Authorities believe the brothers illegally obtained some 200 items over a four-year period.

Garner’s case was prosecuted in Tacoma because some of the stolen merchandise came from federal agencies with offices in Western Washington or was processed through Fort Lewis.

According to court records, a government property-disposal specialist based in Auburn became suspicious of Smith and reported him.

In November, more than 40 federal agents and local law enforcement officers raided several locations in Southern California, seizing more than $1 million in property and arresting Smith and Garner.

Robbery appears to be the motive behind a shootout Saturday night that left three men injured, Tacoma police reported today.

Tacoma police have arrested one person in connection with the incident. He and two others are being charged today.

Tacoma police believe the three showed up at a house in the 700 block of South Huson Street about 10:30 p.m. A man inside the house opened fire. There was an exchange of gunfire, police spokesman Mark Fulghum said.

Two of the visitors were shot and fled. Tacoma police found them nearby.

One was shot in the abdomen and airlifted to Harborview Medical Center. He's expected to survive. The other was grazed on the head, Fulghum said.

The man inside the house was shot in the leg and taken to a hospital for treatment.

Officers contacted one man at the scene. They initially interviewed him as a witness. Through the investigation, detectives uncovered the man's involvement in what happened, Fulghum said.

Investigators recovered at least two guns at the scene.

UPDATE: Charging documents provide the following information ...

The man who was inside the house, identified in charging documents as RC, told Tacoma detectives he lived at the Huson address with another man. That other man had arranged to "buy a significant quantity of drugs" from a person RC didn't know.

RC was at the home Saturday night when Derrick O'Neal Cleary, Devan Idris Hopson and Oziel V. Suarez pulled up in a vehicle. Cleary and Hopson entered the home and sat down in the living room with RC.

The other man who lives in the home was standing near the front door and asked Hopson and Cleary about a rifle in the men's vehicle.

"Moments later the third man, by description Suarez, entered the residence armed with an assault rifle," court documents state.

Suarez asked where the money was and told everybody not to reach for their weapons.

"At that point it appears everyone inside the residence reached for weapons," court documents state. "RC was armed with a handgun and fled to a bedroom. RC fired as he retreated, apparently hitting Suarez and Hopson. RC was hit by gunfire."

Officers found an assault rifle and bloody handgun in garbage cans near where Hopson and Suarez were found.

Prosecutors have charged Derrick O'Neal Cleary, Devan Idris Hopson and Oziel V. Suarez with first-degree assault and first-degree robbery.

Just an FYI that Tacoma firefighters will be doing a training exercise today.

Here's the info from the City of Fircrest Web site:

A training exercise involving a house burn on the corner of Electron and Contra Costa is scheduled for Monday, June 29th - weather permitting.

UPDATE: This training is underway. I am not quite sure when it started.

Reader Alex Koerger sent in this photo.

Tacoma police responded to a robbery at a pizza restaurant on Sixth Avenue on Saturday night.

The suspect entered Little Caesars, 628 S. Sprague Ave., just after 5 p.m. Saturday. He implied he had a weapon and demanded cash, police reported.

After the robbery, the robber fled on foot in an unknown direction.

Also on Saturday night, Tacoma police arrested at least one person after reports of shots fired at the transit center across from the Tacoma Mall.

Witnesses reported several shots being fired at the transit center at South 47th Street and Tacoma Mall Boulevard. An officer approaching the area spotted four juveniles walking away from the center, police reported.

The juveniles spotted the officer and ran through the parking lot of the Tacoma Mall. Tacoma police officers detained all four juveniles.

Officers found a .22-caliber gun with one of the suspects.

No injuries were mentioned.

A sweeper truck is on the scene this morning of a gravel spill that is blocking the off-ramp from State Route 167 to South 212th Street in Kent, the state DOT reports.

The incident began about 8:20 a.m.

UPDATE at 8:40 a.m.: The spill has been cleaned up and the off-ramp is now open, the state DOT reported at 8:35 a.m.

Tacoma police say a man wielding a gun conducted a takeover-style robbery at a Sixth Avenue pharmacy early Sunday.

No arrest has been reported.

According to police, a man walked into the Walgreen drug store, 4315 Sixth Ave., just before 2 a.m. Sunday. He jumped over the pharmacy counter, pointed a gun at the pharmacist and demanded Oxycontin.

The bandit got an undisclosed amount of prescription narcotics and left the store. He was last seen in a silver car with tinted windows, police reported.

The robber was described as black, 25 to 28 years old and 5 feet 8 with a heavy build. He wore a red baseball cap, black jacket with red shoulders and black pants.

Surveillance images and video:

Tacoma police were searching for a man who robbed a South End bank Friday evening.

Surveillance photos of the suspect were released today.

According to Tacoma police, the man walked into the Timberland Bank, 7805 S. Hosmer St., about 5:20 p.m. Friday. He walked up to a teller and whispered that he was robbing the bank. He also implied he had a gun.

The man received an undisclosed amount of cash, left the bank and was last seen running toward the nearby hardware store, police reported.

A witness followed a car in the moments after the robbery but it is not known if the vehicle was related. The car was last seen in the area of South 72nd and Alaska streets.

The bank robber is described as white or Native American, in his mid- to late 40s and 5 feet 11. He was wearing a blue Seattle Mariners baseball hat (the bill was teal), sunglasses, a gray hooded sweatshirt with the hood over his hat, blue jeans and black-and-gray athletic shoes. He had a full mustache, soul patch and goatee and a large surgical-type bandage on his face, police reported.

Tacoma-Pierce County Crime Stoppers is offering up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest and charges filed in the robbery. Tipsters may remain anonymous.

Reach Crime Stoppers at 253-591-5959.

The Pierce County County will talk Tuesday about how the Pierce County Sheriff's Department plans to spend more than a million in federal grant money.

A resolution endorsing the Sheriff's Department's acceptance of the $1,083,891.50 grant is on the council's agenda.

We wrote about the grant and the department's (and other law enforcement agencies) plan to spend the grant money. Find that story here and the sidebar here.

Here's the Council agenda item:

A Resolution of the Pierce County Council Endorsing the Pierce County Sheriff Department's Acceptance of a Grant Award of $1,083,891.50 in Bureau of Justice Assistance Grant Funds for Public Safety and Judicial Services that Address Critical Needs for Pierce County Citizens; and Providing a Public Hearing on the County's Proposed Use of the Money Received.

Fire crews tend to an injured passenger of a crash that sent a car into an office building Sunday evening. Brian Everstine/The News Tribune

A two-vehicle collision Sunday night in Ruston sent a car crashing through a fence and into an office.

Four people were sent to local hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries.

Ruston Police Chief Jeremy Kunkel said a dark blue Toyota Matrix stopped at the intersection of 50th and Pearl streets, drove into traffic and collided with a silver Oldsmobile Alero, which had six people inside. The crash forced the Matrix through a wooden fence of a home-turned law office, into a bush and the wall of the building.

Investigators don't now what caused the cars to crash.

The driver of the Matrix, an elderly woman, was taken to a hospital along with three passengers of the Oldsmobile. At least one of the passengers is a child, who was taken to Mary Bridge Children's Hospital.

None of the injuries are serious, Kunkel said.

Investigators were quick to the scene because many had been working at the nearby Taste of Tacoma festival. About two blocks of northbound Pearl Street are closed while investigators are on scene and waiting for a tow truck to remove the vehicles.

A Tacoma firefighter was injuried battling a two-alarm blaze Saturday morning in North Tacoma.

Tacoma Fire spokesman Tory Green said firefighters were called to a house near the intersection of North 43rd and North Orchard Street at about 10:45 a.m. A fire had started in a garage, and had spread to the house, two other garages and the siding of another home. A second alarm was called by about 11 a.m.

A firefighter was injured fighting the fire and has been taken to a local hospital, Green said. The fire was out by about noon. The cause of the fire and extent of the damage is under investigation.

Here's a look at the month of May recap from the Tacoma Police Department's four sectors and several specialty units. Read the full reports for each on the department's Web site.

Sector 1: Two men were arrested on suspicion of first-degree robbery May 6. The victim reported he went to the 900 block of South Grant Street to sell two men custom embroidered hats. The suspects pulled a gun and then took the hats and jewelry from the victim. University Place police found the suspects a short time later.

The community liaison officers have been working on identifying where fencing needs to be placed along the BNSF railroad tracks below Interstate 705. "This is aimed at stopping the encampments under Hwy 705 and eliminating the issues surrounding the Russell Building," the report states.

Sector 2: There has been an uptick in car prowls at several locations within Point Defiance Park. Speeding also continues to be an issue despite additional traffic bumps installed by Metro Parks.

Over at the Point Ruston development, surveyors put in markers for a sewer line. Within a week, the markers had been pulled out and laid out in the form of crosses north and west of Ruston Way. A report was written.

Sector 3: Officers responded to several shootings and a homicide in the month of May. In addition, a task force inspection was done on a house in the 5400 block of South State Street. The tenants were known meth users and had a criminal background. The tenants moved out.

Sector 4: Officers were searching for a person who set a Dumpster on fire behind the Group Health building at 9505 S. Steele St. The suspect was seen fleeing on a bicycle before officers arrived.

A man wearing a ski mask and wielding what was described as a machine gun robbed the Subway at 1407 72nd St. E. He robbed the clerk and left out the back door.

A 14-year-old boy accidentally shot himself in the leg with a handgun in the 2100 block of East 38th Street. Tacoma police, Puyallup Tribal police and Tacoma firefighters responded.

Two clean-ups were held during the month. The first was in the Larchmont area. More than 80 people participated and 10 tons of garbage and 103 tires were collected. The second was in the 4-3 district. More than 270 people participated and 88 tons of garbage and five tons of tires were rounded up.

Gang unit: The gang officers arrested 39 subjects on suspicion of 80 charges. Of those subjects, 22 are known gang members or associates and 13 were on active DOC supervision. The gang officers recovered five guns and two stolen vehicles.

Among their enforcement highlights, the officers arrested three suspected Hispanic gang members who were tagging a business at East 64th Street and McKinley Avenue on May 7. The unit also participated in a three-day ICE gang sweep near the end of the month. Several contacts and arrests were made.

K-9 unit: The K-9 teams made six felony arrests and assisted with 28 other arrests during the month. They conducted 17 tracks, 12 building searches and made one evidence find.

Traffic unit: The traffic officers issued 1,558 traffic tickets during May. The most tickets (457) were handed out to drivers in Sector 1. Traffic officers arrested nine suspected drunken drivers in Sector 3.

The department issued 2,005 violations from the city's nine red light cameras during the month.

Marine Services unit: Officers assigned to the unit conducted 256 visual vessel inspections, issued 14 citations, wrote one accident report and responded to nine calls for service.

They also responded to a hit-and-run incident at the Crow's Nest and made one arrest.

A portion of South Ninth Street in downtown Tacoma will be closed to cars this weekend.

Crews will be extending a joint utility trench on the road, prompting the closure, the City of Tacoma reported.

Drivers will not be allowed on South Ninth Street from St. Helens Avenue to Commerce Street. Ninth Street is expected to reopen by Sunday evening.

Detour signs and flaggers will be posted in the area to notify drivers of the traffic revisions. The businesses along the stretch will be open during the construction work.

A four-year-old child fell out of car in Southeast Tacoma this evening and was run over by the car's back tires, Tacoma police report.
Police spokesman Mark Fulghum said the child was taken to Mary Bridge Children's Hospital and Health Center with unknown injuries.
Fulghum said what caused the child to fall from the car wasn't immediately known. Police are investigating.
The accident occurred at South 64th Street and Homestead Avenue. The exact time of the accident wasn't available

The Kent Police Department is asking for help in locating Tina Antounette Williams who has been missing from Kent since Wednesday.
Williams left work at Children’s Hospital in Seattle at approximately 5:00 p.m. Wednesday. She has not been seen or heard from since which is highly unusual, according to police spokeswoman Dina Paganucci.
Police said Williams routinely takes the bus to and from work.
Paganucci said Williams has mental health issues and does take medication. At times she can become disoriented, Paganucci said.
Williams is described as “highly functional” but she is not likely to make contact with strangers to ask for help.
Tina is a 28-year-old black female, 5 foot 5 inches tall and weighing 130 pounds. She recently added braided extensions to her hair.
Anyone with information about her whereabouts is urged to call 911.

A woman charged with stealing more than $72,000 from a Pierce County youth soccer club pleaded guilty today to 10 counts of first-degree theft.

Superior Court Judge Lisa Worswick sentenced Deborah Lea Angilley, 43, to 90 days in jail. Angilley also is subject to deportation back to her native South Africa, deputy prosecutor Rosie Martinelli said.

Prosecutors charged Angilley with 11 counts of first-degree theft and two counts of second-degree theft in June 2008.

They contended she used her position as treasurer of the Fife-Milton-Edgewood Junior Soccer Club to drain the club's accounts.

The thefts nearly caused the club to fold, but it managed to stay afloat with the help of donations.

Martinelli said Angilley had a gambling habit that fueled her need for cash. Worswick ordered treatment for addictive gambling as part of Angilley's sentence.

Five South King County family members were sentenced to prison today for growing thousands of marijuana plants inside houses in Kent, Federal Way and Des Moines, the U.S. Attorney’s Office reported.

The five men, all Vietnamese immigrants, were among 17 family members initially arrested after a Drug Enforcement Agency raid last September.

Ton Chi Duong, 60, of Kent, characterized by prosecutors as the family patriarch, received a five-year sentence, enhanced because police found a firearm in his grow house.

Bao V. Duong, 54, of Federal Way received a 42-month sentence, also enhanced by a firearms charge. Police found an AK-47 assault rifle in his house.

Also sentenced Friday were Hoi Van Ngo, 41, of Des Moines; Dung Duong, 31, of Kent; and Frank Vuu, 48 of Kent, all of whom were sentenced to 18 months.

Three additional family members have been charged in the case. One of them has entered a guilty plea and is scheduled to be sentenced in July, according to federal prosecutors.

Law enforcement officers arrested the family members after conducting raids on 13 South King County houses on Sept. 10, 2008.

Officers seized more than 5,000 pot plants and more than $70,000 in cash, along with the two weapons.

According to his lawyer, Ton Chi Duong fought with American forces during the Vietnam War and was badly wounded. He fled to the United States after escaping from a Communist prison camp.

He turned to marijuana growing after a landscaping business faltered, his attorney said.

(This item was contributed by TNT staff writer Rob Carson)

There may be more activity than usual at Pierce County Airport this weekend.

Members of the Civil Air Patrol will converge on the South Hill airport to practice responding to emergency situations, the organization said in a news release issued Friday.

Here's an excerpt:

Beginning Saturday morning, CAP members will be expected to respond to a variety of situations that will simulate real disasters. Every year, CAP is involved in missions such as finding missing people or aircraft and providing aerial photos of damage due to earthquake, flooding, or other disaster. These activities support local, state, and federal agencies in their efforts to keep their communities safe in a variety of ways. While it is unknown what missions CAP will be required to undertake this weekend, they will be able to practice working together and with other agencies to advance their skills as they prepare to serve their communities when the need arises.

Click here for more information on the CAP.

Tacoma residents are invited to a 100th birthday celebration for one of the city's fire stations.

Station 11 at 3802 McKinley Ave. will host its centennial celebration Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The station opened April 17, 1909, and has been serving the citizens and businesses of the East Side since.

The station will host an open house Saturday and offer tours of the station and a view of a 47-foot fire engine. The fire department's historian will be on had.

Fourteen Tacoma neighborhood groups will show their resolve against criminal activity tonight on their streets.

The third-annual March Against Crime begins with a rally at 6 p.m. at the 76 gas station, 6329 Pacific Ave., in Tacoma. There will be speeches from Tacoma Police Department officials, a Safe Streets representative and elected officials.

Participating this year are 14 Safe Streets block watch groups in the South End. Most will dot Pacific Avenue through the South End of the city to the border with unincorporated Pierce County.

"The grassroots event has become a powerful way for Safe Streets groups to show criminals their dedication to improving their community; moreover, the march serves to galvanize passersby into organizing their own neighborhoods and increasing their awareness of safety issues," the non-profit organization reports.

The participating groups will be stationed at:

Lincoln South Neighbors: 34th Street and Pacific Avenue.
East Abe’s Safe Streets: 38th Street and Pacific Avenue.
Lincoln LAWGs: 43rd Street and Pacific Avenue.
Stewart Safe Streets: 50th Street and Pacific Avenue.
Pacific Avenue Business District: 56th Street and Pacific Avenue.
Four Star Safe Street group: 56th Street and Pacific Avenue.
Stewart Heights neighborhood Coalition: 60th Street and Pacific Avenue.
Park Avenue Neighborhood: 64th Street and Pacific Avenue.
Pak – Yak Safe Streets Neighborhood: 72nd Street and Pacific Avenue.
Larchmont Safe Streets: 84th Street and Pacific Avenue.
Fern Hill Alliance Safe Streets: 96th Street and Pacific Avenue.
Lincoln West: South 38th and M streets.
Mann Safe Streets Neighborhood: South 56th Street and Yakima Avenue.
A new group will also be participating but hadn't decided where they will be.

Lakewood Police said the man who was found injured earlier this month died this evening.

Robert Hill Fraser, 57, was found apparently beaten at a Lakewood apartment complex on June 16. Lt. Heidi Hoffman said the incident is now a possible homicide.

"It appears at this point as if Fraser was assaulted and robbed although it is possible the victim merely fell from some medical condition," the initial police report stated. "The police are treating the incident as suspicious."

Puyallup Tribal and Tacoma police officers talk at the scene of a shooting on Thursday afternoon. Brian Everstine/The News Tribune

Tacoma and Puyallup Tribal police are investigating a shooting that injured one man on Columbia Avenue East.

Multiple shots were fired at about 5:45 p.m. in the 2000 block of Columbia Avenue East. One man was hit in the torso, and friends drove him to St. Joseph's Medical Center, Tacoma Police spokesman Mark Fulghum said.

Police are working to locate the shooter and to determine what led to the shooting.

A Federal Way man has been charged with first-degree manslaughter after allegedly beating his wife and leaving her body in the apartment for about a week.

King County prosecutors said 63-year-old Kermit Stewart got into an argument with his wife, 63-year-old Cheri Stewart, on June 16. He threw her to the ground, causing cuts and abrasians to her face, prosecutors said.

Cheri Stewart’s employer became concerned after she did not report to work for five days, prompting her apartment manager to go to the apartment. The manager found her dead in the bathroom and her husband sitting on the bed. The manager called 911.

Kermit Stewart reportedly told police he’d taken his wife’s antidepressants after the fight and fell asleep while she was still awake. When he awoke, he told officers, he found her dead.

During interviews, Kermit Stewart told officers “I obviously killed my wife” and said it looked like he “beat the hell out of her,” according to court papers. He didn’t report the death because he knew he would be blamed, the documents state.

The couple had been married for 34 years and a friend told police Cheri Stewart lived with her in California for about five months before returning to Federal Way in March.

The King County Medical Examiner’s Office determined Cheri Stewart died from blood loss, likely from a broken nose. She reportedly took blood-thinning medication, causing her to bleed excessively.

Kermit Stewart is to be arraigned July 8. He is being held at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent in lieu of $1 million bail.

Aydelotte

The King County Sheriff's Office is asking the public for help locating a missing 57-year-old man.

Sydney Wayne Aydelotte was last seen at an adult family home at 28849 38th Avenue South in unincorporated King County, near Auburn. He reportedly suffers from undiagnosed pre-dementia.

He was last seen wearing a red shirt under a blue sweater and white shoes. He is friendly, and likes to collect cans. He possible will ride a King County Metro bus.

Anyone who has seen Aydelotte is urged to call the King County Sheriff's Office at 206-296-3311.

Lakewood police need help trying to figure out how a 57-year-old man was critically injured earlier this month.

Robert Hill Fraser was found sitting on the ground near a pool of blood about 3:30 p.m. June 16 at the Pacific Ridge Apartments, 13020 Lincoln Ave. S.W.

Fraser had a large cut on the back of his head and a possible black eye, Lakewood police reported. He was conscious but unable to respond to questions. He didn't have any identification.

"It appears at this point as if Fraser was assaulted and robbed although it is possible the victim merely fell from some medical condition," police report. "The police are treating the incident as suspicious."

Lakewood police talked to residents of the apartment complex. No one recognized Fraser or witnessed anything unusual before Fraser was injured.

Fraser is in critical condition at a local hospital.

"Fraser's wounds are severe enough that he may not survive," police reported.

Detectives would like to talk with anyone who might have witnessed what happened to Fraser and anyone who knows him.

Anyone with information is encouraged to call Lakewood Police Department at 253-830-5046.

The National Prison Rape Elimination Commission recently came out with a report that found inmates reported being sexually abused by their captors more than other inmates.

More prisoners reported abuse by staff than abuse by other prisoners: 2.9 percent of respondents compared with about 2 percent. (Some prisoners reported abuse by other inmates and staff.)

It also found that "Many victims cannot safely and easily report sexual abuse, and those who speak out often do so to no avail."

Air Force veteran Tom Cahill, who was arrested and detained for just a single night in a San Antonio jail, recalled the lasting effects of being gang-raped and beaten by other inmates. “I’ve been hospitalized more times than I can count and I didn’t pay for those hospitalizations, the tax payers paid. My career as a journalist and photographer was completely derailed. . . . For the past two decades, I’ve received a non-service connected security pension from the Veteran’s Administration at the cost of about $200,000 in connection with the only major trauma I’ve ever suffered, the rape.”

As someone who has received letters from inmates about abuse in prison, expressing private pain as well as frustration at systemic problems, I have been interested in this topic for a long time. When I was working in Nashville, I wrote a story about the question of giving inmates access to condoms since the prevalence of HIV and other diseases are higher in prisons than the general population -- and given the fact that 95 percent of inmates will eventually return to the community. The state said that to allow condoms would be to condone sexual acts, which are banned by prison policy. I'm not sure what the rules are like here.

Tacoma police are asking for the public's help in identifying a man who's suspected of burglarizing a North End home earlier this month.

Investigators released pictures of the burglar and his truck today in hopes of identifying him.

The burglary occurred about 6 a.m. June 15. The man broke into an unoccupied home in the 700 block of North Warner Street.

Witnesses reported seeing the burglar park next to the home in a red pickup truck. He loaded several items from the home into the back of the truck and then drove off, police reported.

Afterward, witnesses discovered the home's back door had been kicked in.

The burglar is described as a white man in his 40s. He is 5 feet 8 and 150 pounds, with sandy hair.

During the crime, he wore a plaid shirt and blue jean jacket. He drove a small, older model red pickup truck with a red detailing sticker across the driver's door.

Tacoma-Pierce County Crime Stoppers is offering up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest and charges filed in the burglary. Callers may remain anonymous.

Reach Crime Stoppers at 253-591-5959. Tips also can be submitted anonymously to TPD here.

Nearly 200 law enforcement professions, service providers, community leaders and educators will be at Pacific Lutheran University today to talk about gang violence.

The regional gang symposium "Ignite Hope" kicks off at 8 a.m. and is scheduled to end at 4 p.m. Safe Streets has organized the one-day event.

Participants will hear a keynote address from state Attorney General Rob McKenna and a videotaped message from the federal drug czar Gil Kirlikowske (also the former Seattle police chief). They'll be able to attend workshops to learn about the national and local gang picture, how to close the achievement gap and using microfinance to support gang members as business people.

"All of us, from residents and youth to community institutions, must recommit ourselves to working together to leverage our resources to make a difference for all youth in our community," Priscilla Lisicich, executive director of Safe Streets Campaign, said in a press release.

For the symposium, Safe Streets is partnering with Click! Network, the Good Man Project, Lakewood Police Department, Metropolitan Development Council, Pierce County Sheriff's Department, Puyallup Tribe of Indians, Tacoma Police Department and Tacoma Public Schools.

A 22-year-old man was in critical condition after being shot in an apartment complex parking lot Wednesday evening.

Pierce County sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said an argument began in the parking lot of the complex at Cirque Drive West and Hannah Pierce Road West. Some of those involved reportedly have gang ties, Troyer said.

The gunman fired at the man then fled. The man was taken by ambulance to Tacoma General Hospital with multiple gunshot wounds and was in critical condition Wednesday night.

Troyer said detectives were working to find out who the shooter is.

Police pulled over a car with blood in it nearby. It appears witnesses tried to help the wounded man in the car before fleeing, Troyer said.

UPDATE: 10:40 p.m. Troyer said it appears an argument began between two men regarding a woman. The two began to physically fight, and others crowded around. A third man opened fire, hitting one of the men.

Investigators haven't determined how many shots were fired.

None of the men reportedly live in the apartment, but have relationships with some of the tenants.

Officers will be at the scene through the night trying to figure out who the shooter is. Witnesses are not cooperating with investigators, Troyer said.

From the Kent Fire Department:

Early this afternoon a fire broke out in the compressor room of a North Kent manufacturing company located in the 7800 block of S. 192 St. Fire Department emergency units from Kent and Renton responded to the fire. The first arriving Fire Department unit found the fire had been extinguished by the automatic fire sprinkler system. Damage was limited to the compressor room and damage was estimated at $50,000.00. Fire investigators determined the cause to be a mechanical failure in an air drying unit. No injuries to workers at the business or to firefighters.

Sen. Patty Murray's office has sent out a slew of press releases this afternoon regarding a spending bill that passed through a Senate subcommittee today.

The press releases tout money for local projects that Sen. Murray has been able to secure.

Among them, the democratic senator says she's secured more than $3 million for three law enforcement efforts in Pierce County. The federal dollars and projects are:

* $2.2 million for the state's Methamphetamine Initiative and the National Methamphetamine Training and Technical Assistance Center in Pierce County. A bulk of the money - $1.3 million - goes toward the training center. The rest ($900,000) goes toward the state meth initiative to help address new threats, such as gang-related drug activity, border trafficking and the growing presence of Mexican drug cartels.

* $500,000 for the Pierce County Regional Gang Prevention Partnership, which focuses on at-risk youth who are exposed to or engage in crime.

"The Pierce County Regional Gang Prevention Partnership brings together a team of prevention specialists, police, prosecutors, schools, and health- and community-based organizations to work collaboratively throughout the region," a press release from Murray's office states. "Using their combined expertise, they identify services that can help youth and families who are impacted by drugs, violence and gang-related issues."

* $500,000 for a new radio communications tower for the Pierce County Sheriff's Department. The new tower will "enhance deputies' ability to communicate with each other and with other law enforcement agencies during emergencies," a press release states.

The county's law enforcement and fire agencies have been moving toward a regional, interoperable communications system and consolidated 911 dispatch centers.

The $3.2 million in projects is included in the 2010 Senate Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations Bill. The bill passed out of subcommittee today and moved to the Appropriations Committee.

Washington State Patrol troopers arrested an Olympia man on suspicion of hitting another car Tuesday night and injuring three people, then fleeing the scene.

The 34-year-old man was booked into Thurston County Jail on suspicion of vehicular assault and felony hit-and-run.

The most seriously injured was a 4-year-old boy, who was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center for treatment of facial injuries, the State Patrol reported.

Troopers reported the man was driving a Subaru Legacy wagon east on Yelm Highway when he lost control at Normandy Road about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. The wagon struck a 1992 Isuzu Amigo, which left the road, hit a metal fence and rolled onto its roof, troopers reported.

The wagon crossed into oncoming traffic, left the roadway, struck a fence and came to a rest in a parking lot.

The driver of the wagon ran away from the crash. He was found several minutes later and arrested, troopers reported.

The 4-year-old boy was a passenger in the Isuzu Amigo. The car's driver and a 10-year-old boy also were injured. They were taken to Providence St. Peter Hospital for treatment of minor injuries, troopers reported.

The State Patrol reported the two children and driver of the Isuzu were properly restrained.

The road was closed for more than four hours as troopers investigated. They were looking into whether drugs or alcohol were factors.

King County firefighters put out a fire this morning in the office of Costco's warehouse in Auburn.

Valley Regional Fire Authority firefighters were called to the building at 1802 M St. N.W. just after 6:10 a.m. today.

They found light smoke coming from an inside office. Firefighters went inside and found the sprinkler system had activated, the agency reported.

The flames were extinguished. The heat and water damage was contained to the office where the fire started, the agency reported.

No firefighters were injured. A civilian was treated at the scene for minor smoke inhalation.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by the South King County Fire Investigation Task Force, the agency reported.

Nevils

Tacoma Police are looking for more suspects in the the 2008 murder of an Olympia man.

Eric Nevils, 30, was killed on March 27, 2008. Witnesses told police they heard several gunshots in the area of North Park Drive in Tacoma. When officers arrived, they found Nevils dead from multiple gunshot wounds.

A suspect was arrested shortly after and has been charged. Police said the investigation has revealed that more suspects may be involved. Anyone with information is urged to call Tacoma/Pierce County Crime Stoppers at 253-591-5959. A $1,000 reward is offered for information leading to an arrest and charges filed.

The right lane of westbound Highway 410 in Sumner will be closed for about 10 hours after a car crashed into a power pole.

The state Department of Transportation said the crash happened at about 1:45 p.m. near 166th Avenue East. Puget Sound Energy crews are on the scene and have estimated that the pole won't be replaced until late tonight.

Backup is about two miles to the Sumner/Buckley highway, and will grow.

UPDATE 4:40 p.m.: PSE estimates all lanes will be open by 2 a.m.

The man who crashed into an Edgewood liquor store this morning was reportedly drunk, and trying to get some more alcohol.

Pierce County Sheriff spokesman Ed Troyer said the 52-year-old man pulled into the state-run liquor store at about 11 a.m. He wasn't able to stop, and crashed through the front of the store.

Employees and shoppers inside saw the car coming and were able to get out of the way. No injuries were reported. The man was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.

Local clergy will perform a spiritual ceremony today at the spot where a 26-year-old Sumner man was killed earlier this month.

The Moment of Blessing ceremony for Michael J. McGowan begins at 11 a.m. along State Route 167 just south of the State Route 512 interchange. The spot will be marked with bamboo poles laced with red and purple ribbons bearing the names of the men, women and children killed in acts of homicide in Pierce County.

McGowan was the passenger in a car that left the highway and hit a tree June 10. The 46-year-old driver was initially arrested on suspicion of vehicular homicide. Prosecutors have not yet filed charges in the crash.

Associated Ministries conducts Moment of Blessing ceremonies at the places where homicides occur in Pierce County. The brief ceremonies are intended to cleanse the spaces where people are killed and to provide comfort to the victim's relatives and friends as well as the community where the crime happened.

A car fire is blocking the HOV lane of southbound Interstate 5 in Federal Way this morning, the state DOT reports.

The incident is just north of the South 320th Street exit and began about 9:05 a.m.

Troopers, firefighters and transportation crews are on the scene.

UPDATE as of 9:10 a.m.: Two lanes are now blocked by the car fire.

9:25 a.m. UPDATE: The fire is out and all lanes are now open to traffic.

Here are a few of the incidents in the City of Tacoma over the weekend.

Early Saturday, a homeowner was stabbed while confronting two suspects trying to break into the homeowner's garage, Tacoma police reported.

The incident occurred in the 4500 block of South Thompson Avenue about 12:40 a.m. The homeowner heard the attempted break in of his garage and confronted the two suspects.

A struggle ensued and the homeowner was stabbed in the chest. The suspects fled and were not immediately located.

The 41-year-old homeowner was taken to St. Joseph Medical Center for treatment of non-life threatening injuries, police reported.

----

A witness came upon an aggravated assault early Saturday in the Hilltop.

The witness could hear people yelling for help and checked the area. Near the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Ernest Brazill street, the witness spotted two men beating and kicking someone in the head, police reported.

The suspects fled in a white BMW. The victim was taken to a local hospital for non-life threatening injuries. As a result of the assault, the victim may lose sight in one eye, police reported.

No arrests have been reported.

----

Officers found a stolen revolver during a traffic stop on Saturday.

A police officer and police dog responded to the report of a large party in the area of South 47th and South Oakes streets. When officers arrived, several witnesses pointed to a vehicle and said the occupants had waived a handgun, police reported.

Officers stopped the vehicle in the 4700 block of South Pine Street. They found a .44-caliber revolver inside the car. The gun had been reported stolen, police said.

The driver was arrested on suspicion of unlawful possession of a stolen firearm.

----

Police were searching for two suspects who robbed employees at a South End restaurant on Sunday night.

The suspects wearing bandanas over their faces went to the Great Wall Buffet, 8217 S. Hosmer St., about 10:25 p.m. Sunday. They pushed down an employee as she left the restaurant, grabbed a money bag and fled, police reported.

They were last seen in a dark-colored pickup truck.

Officers set up containment and a police dog did a track but the robbers were not found.

----

Also, two readers e-mailed me about police activity Friday night in the area of 64th and McKinely. One reader said the SWAT team was out and patrol cars were blocking on the side streets.

Tacoma police spokesman Mark Fulghum reports that the SWAT team was serving a warrant at a home in the area.

That's all I know for now.

Investigators are trying to determine what sparked an early morning apartment fire in University Place that left 17 people without a place to stay.

The blaze destroyed two units of a 12-unit Meadow Park Garden Court apartment building and damaged eight others, University Place assistant fire chief Dave Dupille said.

Firefighters were called to the fire at 5614 Hannah Pierce Road W. just after 4:15 a.m. today. Overnight guests woke up a resident of one of the destroyed units. She discovered flames on the deck of her second-story apartment, Dupille said.

When firefighters arrived, the flames were through the roof. The fire crawled under the eve and into the attic area. University Place police officers and other tenants were evacuating the building, Dupille said.

The fire was upgraded to a second alarm within minutes. Firefighters rescued two puppies from the building but did not find their mother, Dupille said.

Thirty-five firefighters and support staff, including crews from Tacoma, Gig Harbor and Lakewood, battled the flames.

The blaze was under control by 5:15 a.m. No firefighters were injured. One person was taken to a local hospital after inhaling some smoke while standing in the parking lot.

American Red Cross volunteers responded to the apartment building to help the 17 people displaced by the fire.

Investigators say the fire started on the outside of the building but were looking for what sparked it.

UPDATE: The fire caused an estimated $500,000 in damages.

The local chapter of Red Cross sent out a press release. They say they are assisting 24 residents - 18 adults and 6 children.

Photo courtesy of Dave Dupille, assistant fire chief University Place

Two blocks of Broadway Street will be closed to traffic today for road paving.

The street will be shut down from Seventh to Ninth Streets from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Signs will be in place to alert drivers and offer detours, the City of Tacoma reported.

The paving is part of an improvement project.

Here's the update from Sheriff's Department spokesman Ed Troyer:

We just arrived in Puerto vallarta..good timing.This is the first time I have had internet access this week that works decent. We left Autlan at 8:00 am and arrived about an hour ago. Went went through the mountain pass and a heavy rainstorm. All of us are here. All of the vehicles and the equipment and supplies in them have been donated in good working condition. The fire fighters in Autlan a town of about 60 thousand spent the evening cruising the streets in their new fire engine. The ambulances were displayed at town square.

We are all here safe and planning to fly home tomorrow just as planned.

Thirteen Tacoma businesses sold alcohol to minors during a compliance check on June 12.

Two teams of officers from the State Liquor Control Board checked 45 businesses during the operation. The agency sends adults aged 18-20 into restaurants, grocery stores and liquor stores to try to buy alcohol. If they are asked for identification, they must show their actual driver’s license.

The fines or license suspensions vary depending on the severity of the infraction or the frequency with which the business has been cited in the past two years, according to a release. Clerks who sell can also receive a criminal citation.

Here is a list of businesses that sold alcohol to a minor:
• One Stop Mini Mart, 4401 6th Ave.
• Taggers Mini Mart, 6615 S. 12th St.
• Java Fusion Coffee House, 6820 6th Ave.
• Imperial Dragon Restaurant, 6805 6th Ave.
• Cloverleaf, 6430 6th Ave.
• Tower Lanes Restaurant, 6323 6th Ave.
• Tacoma Boys, 5602 6th Ave.
• Hell’s Kitchen, 3829 6th Ave.
• King’s Deli & Grocery, 326 Tacoma Ave. S.
• 54th Sports Bar, 5415 S. Tacoma Way
• Tienda Taqueria Mini Market, 4314 Portland Ave. No. 8
• Mountain Tavern, 5520 Pacific Ave.
• Pac 40 Lounge & Restaurant, 3850 Pacific Ave.

=> Read more!

Pierce County corrections officers honored the memory of one of their former coworkers Friday with a graduation gift to his daughter.

The gift of $4,600 was presented to Sarah McKeown during an event Friday afternoon at the Pierce County Jail.

McKeown's father, 38-year-old Tom McKeown, died in a fishing accident on the Nisqually River in September 2004. He'd been among about 10 fishermen casting along the bank when he stepped off a hidden drop-off near the center of the river. His waders apparently filled with water, pulling him under.

At the time, Sarah was 13. She said she would "make her father proud," according to corrections officers.

Here's a write up about the graduation gift from Pierce County corrections Capt. Martha Karr:

The generous staff of Pierce County Corrections raised a total of $4,600.00 for Sarah's graduation gift! This was truly a remarkable show of compassion and support for this young lady. When Corrections Officer Tom McKeown died in his fishing accident in 2004, Sarah at age 13 gave an emotional speech that she would "make her father proud". She accomplished this with graduating with honors, being the schools ASB President, and being accepted at Georgetown University.

She will be arriving this Friday at noon with her mother Sun Ho. We will be hosting a ceremony in the main jail staff dining at noon to present the graduation gift and enjoy cake and coffee. They will then be given a tour of the jail to see where Sarah's father and Sun Ho's husband Tom worked and to meet many of his past co-workers.

Deborah Bishop is ready to talk about her fiancee - Loomis armored car guard Kurt Husted - and what she'd like to see changed in the wake of his death.

Husted, 38, was fatally shot during a robbery June 2 inside the Lakewood Wal-Mart. Friends, family and coworkers will gather Saturday for a celebration of his life at the Tacoma Elks Lodge.

Bishop contacted The News Tribune on Thursday in hopes of getting her message out. We sat down for an hour-long talk this morning. A full story will appear in Saturday's News Tribune but here a few snippets of our interview as I complete my story.

"Besides my heart, which Kurt knows he has, the only two things I have left to give him are justice and change," Bishop said this morning. "I don't want to be afraid every day when I walk out my front door to go to the store or go to work that I am going to be shot and killed."

She doesn’t have all the details worked out but she knows that something needs to change with the criminal justice system. And she knows she'll need the help of the public to accomplish something good after Husted's death.

"I want people to hear me and come together with me," said Bishop, a passionate woman whose outlook on life has been molded over the years by painful experiences and heart break. "I need something positive to come out of this."

Husted, 38, was picking up checks and cash from the Lakewood Wal-Mart when he was gunned down as he headed back to the armored car June 2.

Pierce County prosecutors have said a group of four people planned the armed robbery for a month and conducted surveillance inside the Wal-Mart store in the days before the deadly heist. Prosecutors have charged the alleged shooter and his alleged accomplice inside the store with aggravated first-degree murder, the state’s highest crime, and other charges. They’ve pleaded not guilty and remained jail, awaiting trial.

Two others – the alleged getaway driver and a Wal-Mart employee who helped plan the robbery – have pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and robbery charges. A fifth person has pleaded not guilty to rendering criminal assistance and obstructing a police officer.

She wants the public to know that Husted's death was not a hate crime. He was not working his normal route the day of the shooting. Bishop believes the suspects would have targeted whomever did that route June 2.

"It was the poor, unfortunate soul who walked in that day, their time was up," Bishop said.

Bishop also wants no one to hate the people accused of killing Husted. She doesn't and knows that hate can blacken a person's heart. Thirteen years ago, she said some people hurt her physically and emotionally.

For a year, she hated them and dreamed every night of killing them, then herself. Eventually, her future brother-in-law sat Bishop down and told her that the hatred had changed her.

"These people don't care whether you love or hate them," he told Bishop. "The only person who cares is you."

That changed Bishop's life and her attitude. Since Husted's death, she's recited the valuable lesson to her brother-in-law.

"I am not going to waste one second of my time hating these people because I am not going to let them win again," Bishop said. "Take that time and energy and focus to help me help us make change."

Bishop was sent a poem Thursday that she's found appropriate and has shared it with loved ones and strangers. Here it is:

I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.

I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.

I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.

The Associated Ministries has decided not to do a Moment of Blessing for Husted. Here's the explanation that was sent out Thursday:

Associated Ministries will not be conducting a Moment of Blessing at the Lakewood Wal-Mart.

We have had multiple conversations with the local manager and he has been very supportive of having a Moment of Blessing. However, after checking with National Headquarters, it was determined that having such an event on the premise conflicted with company policy. Associated Ministries is grateful to local management for their efforts.

We are suggesting the following as an alternative. This weekend at your house of worship, please take time for a special prayer for Kurt Husted, his family, Loomis employees and all of the people who work and frequent the Wal-Mart store. Also, we are requesting prayers for the people who committed this horrible crime.

A crash is blocking the far left lane of northbound and southbound Interstate 5 in Lakewood, the state DOT reports.

The incident began about 10:10 a.m. at Bridgeport Way.

Southbound drivers are backed up for three miles. Northbound drivers are backed up for one mile, transportation crews report.

Troopers, firefighters and paramedics are on the scene. The crash also is having an impact on Highway 512. Westbound drivers are backed up to Steele Street.

11:04 a.m. UPDATE: The backups have grown.

Southbound drivers are backed up five miles; northbound drivers are still at one mile.

Westbound Highway 512 drivers are backed up a mile to Ainsworth.

11:36 a.m. UPDATE: The crash has been cleared and all lanes are open to traffic. The backups still remain, though.

Drivers should expect delays for a little while longer.

Tacoma police found and rescued a missing elderly woman in the water off Point Defiance on Thursday night.

The woman was conscious but cold and transported to a local hospital for treatment. She was expected to be OK, Tacoma police spokesman Mark Fulghum reported.

Law enforcement officers were notified the woman, believed to be in her 80s, had gone missing. She has been known to frequent the Ruston Way and Point Defiance area.

Ruston police found the woman's car at Point Defiance. A Washington State Patrol airplane, the Tacoma Fire Department boat and the Tacoma police boat assisted in the search.

Officers found her in the water.

A crash blocked the left lane of Highway 16 across the Nalley Valley viaduct for a short time this morning.

The crash was cleared just after 7 a.m., the state DOT reported.

Tacoma Police are looking for a child who has been missing since about 6:30 p.m. Thursday.

Police spokesman Mark Fulghum said a woman and her two children drove to the Home Depot on Tacoma Mall Boulevard. The mom went in, leaving her 14-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son in the car. The two got into an argument, and the 10-year-old walked off.

The daughter told her mother, and the two looked in the area and couldn't find the child. They called the police, who have been searching the area.

Fulghum said a neighbor told officers that she saw a boy matching the missing child's general description walking with an adult a few blocks from the store near South 64th Street and Wapato Street.

He is described as a 4-foot tall black male, wearing a red shirt, jeans and black and white shoes. Anyone with information should contact Tacoma Police.

UPDATE: The missing child has been found safe, Fulghum said. It appears he just wandered off.

UPDATE No. 2: A Pierce Transit supervisor found the boy and took him to an off-duty officer. The officials "put two and two together" and discovered he was the missing boy.

The boy was reunited with his family.

"He just got mad and wandered off," Fulghum said.

An Orting man stands accused of beating Lily, his Doberman Pinscher, with metal bicycle handle bars because she was scared of the noise his motorcycle made, according to charging documents filed in Pierce County Superior Court on Monday.

Orting police were called to the home of Thomas T. Pettit early Sunday morning for a disturbance, possibly involving an animal, a prosecutor's affidavit says.

According to it:

They heard yelling and cursing coming from the garage and when they entered found Pettit, a hurt and confused dog and blood in several areas.

There was blood on the floor, on a tool box, tool chest, carpet and walls.

"In the alcove there was a very large smear of blood on the back wall along with a puddle of blood below the smear," the affidavit says. "There was also a large blood smear on a piece of what appeared to be a plastic part from a motorcycle."

The officers also found blood on bicycle handle bars.

They asked Pettit what happened and he said he was "upset with his dog because she did not like the sounds his motorcycle (makes) and he loves to ride his motorcycles."

He reportedly admitted to slapping her a few times and also said he may have thrown her.

Lily suffered numerous broken teeth which had to be extracted by a veterinarian.

Pettit was still being held in the Pierce County Jail Thursday on a charge of first-degree animal cruelty. His bond was set at $30,000.

For those who want to read all the grisly details, here's the .pdf of the two-page affidavit.

(Photo of a totally different dog by andrewk100.)

The Coast Guard has recovered the body of a man who went off the Narrows Bridge this morning.

Witnesses saw the man jump or fall from the west side of the bridge about 11:30 a.m., Washington State Patrol trooper Brandy Kessler said.

A short time later, a U.S. Coast Guard tug boat found the body three miles south of the bridge.

The State Patrol is investigating.

They are on the road again.

The Mission to Mexico crew left Mazatlan this morning and are headed to Ayutla. One group is taking an ambulance to Barra de Navidad, then will rejoin the rest of the group.

Here's a couple of Twitter posts today from Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer:

"Lied about internet, can't find a connection that will let us upload. My fault should have brought air card."

"We're all on the road again. Every vehicle running great. We expect to be in the mountain towns around 6 tonight. All cars running good."

UPDATE: Another problem has emerged.

There's a crack in the radiator for the ambulance and a group of four are stuck in a remote town.

"Doesn't look good," Troyer tweeted.

2:10 UPDATE: Just got off the phone with Troyer. The ambulance has been fixed up and they are headed through the mountains to Ayutla.

Apparently, the wrench that caused a problem earlier in the trip continues to wreck havoc on the ambulance. It caused a small crack and thus a slow leak of fluid.

The crew loaded up on antifreeze and other liquids and headed out.

"That wrench has caused us all kinds of grief," Troyer said.

The caravan has run into some intimidating-looking police today. There were men in masks and holding automatic weapons in Acaponeta.

"They left us alone because we were driving ambulance and fire equipment," Troyer said.

One their way into the mountains, the group passed a sandbag, machine gun pit and more armed officers.

"They saw us," Troyer said. "They are not mean but they are not friendly."

Hear what John-David Faddis had to say about the South Hill robbery by clicking here.

A warrant has been issued for a 37-year-old man suspected of kidnapping and assaulting a 79-year-old man last week.

Pierce County prosecutors have charged Bryan Lee Stetson (pictured here) with first-degree kidnapping and first-degree assault. The charges were filed and an arrest warrant was issued Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the victim remains hospitalized in critical condition, Lakewood police report.

Lakewood police and court documents provide the following information:

Stetson and the victim had been sharing a room at the Gloria Motel, 10005 South Tacoma Way, in Lakewood for several days. Officers and paramedics were called to the room about 4:30 p.m. Friday.

They found the victim bruised around his eyes, on his arms and torso. His hands were discolored, he had open wounds on his arms and his skin was torn and bleeding.

"These wounds appeared fresh," court documents state.

Since being hospitalized, the victim has gone into cardiac arrest. Hospital staff consider his injuries life threatening.

The victim has been unable to tell officers what happened so what provoked the assault is unknown.

A witness told Lakewood police she'd been sitting outside hotel room, talking to Stetson for several hours. He kept saying he'd had a fight with the victim.

"When she asked Stetson about the fight he told her that it was 'personal,'" court documents state. "She noted what appeared to be blood on Stetson's clothing (coveralls)."

The woman asked if the victim was alright and Stetson said they should go see. They entered the room and the witness saw the victim crawling on the floor, unable to get up.

"He appeared to have been badly beaten," court documents state. "She asked (the victim) if he was OK and he responded, 'I'm trying.'"

The witness left the room and reported what she saw to the hotel manager. Meanwhile, Stetson was seen leaving. His car was found the next day in Tacoma and towed away for processing. The hotel room also was processed for evidence.

Stetson returned to the hotel Saturday and asked to be let into the room to retrieve his identification so he could fly to Alaska. Though he was denied, he got in anyway and took a bag from the room. He was last seen wearing dark pants, a gray hoodie-type sweatshirt and a plaid coat.

Lakewood police ask anyone who sees Stetson to call 911.

A Tacoma police officer suffered a minor concussion Wednesday night when the officer's patrol car was struck by a suspected drunken driver on the East Side.

The officer was eastbound on East 72nd Street, approaching McKinley Avenue, in a fully-marked patrol car just before 11:45 p.m., the police department reported. Meanwhile, a car going at a high-rate of speed was headed westbound on East 72nd Street.

The car made a left turn onto East F Street and struck the patrol car, which had been on routine patrol. The car flipped onto its roof, police reported.

The patrol car's front end was smashed and its air bag deployed. Both cars were totaled, Tacoma police spokesman Mark Fulghum said.

The officer and woman driving the other car were taken to St. Joseph Medical Center for treatment of injuries. The officer was later released with a minor concussion, the department reported.

The woman complained of leg pain. Her injuries were not considered life threatening, Fulghum said.

Members of the police department's accident investigation team responded to the crash scene and investigated because a patrol car was involved, Fulghum said.

The 29-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving and driving with a suspended or revoked license, Fulghum said.

Delacruz

Lakewood Police are looking for information leading to the arrest of a man wanted on suspicion of trafficking stolen property and possession of stolen property.

Jason A. Delacruz, also known as"Popeye," is considered to be armed and dangerous, police say. The 26-year-old man is described as 5-foot-7, 185 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. He has "Delacruz" tattooed in old English script on his back and "WBG" (Watts Barrio Grape Sureno) tattooed on his leg.

Anyone with information on where he his is urged to contact Lakewood Police investigator Joseph Kolp at 253-830-5000.

The tattoo has since been colored in.

Fife and Tacoma police arrested a man Wednesday after he fled from a truck stop and crashed into a fence.

Fife Police said officers attempted to pull a vehicle over at a Flying J truck for reckless driving. The driver fled, crashed into a nearby fence and fled on foot. Tacoma Police joined the foot chase, and found him at a nearby motel room, with other people inside. Everyone in the motel room was detained and questioned, and the suspect was arrested.

He was booked into Pierce County Jail on suspicion of misdemeanor and felony charges, in addition to an outstanding felony warrant.

Pierce County law enforcement officers busted an underage party late Saturday, arresting 29 teens on alcohol-related charges and launching an investigation of the parents and teens who hosted the celebration.

Fourteen officers working on the county's Party Intervention Patrol went to the graduation party in the 700 block of Seventh Street Southeast shortly before midnight Saturday. The officers had spotted several high school students - beers in hand - head from their cars to the party.

At the house, officers found 49 teens, ages 16 to 18, who were ramping up the festivities at a pool-and-garage party, the Tacoma-Pierce County DUI Task Force reported today. Most of the youths were from Puyallup High School.

Officers found alcohol, marijuana and two beer bongs. They also found red cups set up to play the popular drinking game, beer pong.

The task force reports the mother and father of two of the teens were at home, asleep, when officers arrived. The parents and the siblings who hosted the party face charges of providing a premise for underage drinking, which is a gross misdemeanor.

Officers arrested 29 teens on suspicion of being minors in possession of alcohol. They were taken to a community center and provided with alcohol and drug information. Some were given referrals to substance abuse agencies, the task force reported.

In addition to the party patrol, officers were out on a DUI emphasis patrol dedicated to a 19-year-old man killed nearly two years ago by a teenage drunken driver.

The 27 officers who worked the emphasis patrol stopped 310 drivers for unsafe driving. Of those, 20 were arrested on suspicion of impaired driving. One of the arrested drivers was 16.

In addition, six drivers were arrested for outstanding warrants and five on suspicion of being a minor in possession of alcohol.

The trial has begun for a serial car thief suspect of hitting a Tacoma police officer, then fleeing from a parking lot last year.

Miles Jerome Santiago-Serrano was taken into custody a short time later after a wild police chase that left him wounded by gunfire last June.

Prosecutors have charged Santiago-Serrano with attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle, unlawful possession of a stolen vehicle and residential burglary.

Testimony was continuing this week in the case.

Below is the story Adam wrote when charges were filed.

=> Read more!

A second man charged in the robbery of two 12-year-old boys last month told police his cut of the shakedown was $5, according to newly filed court documents.

Prosecutors have charged Tommie James Kurtz, 21, with one count each of second-degree robbery and attempted second-degree robbery. Kurtz, who was arrested Monday, is to be arraigned this afternoon.

Authorities allege he was one of three men who robbed the boys May 16 as they sat outside a South Hill grocery store eating a snack. One of the bandits threatened to break the boys'jaws if they didn't hand over their belongings.

Another man arrested in the case, John-David Faddis, pleaded not guilty earlier this week to second-degree robbery and attempted second-degree robbery.

Deputies are seeking the third man.

Kurtz originally told detectives he and his accomplices committed the robbery because they were being extorted by a gang member and needed money, according to charging papers.

He later recanted that story and said they robbed the boys because they saw them with cash, the records state.

A jury has convicted a nursing assistant Joseph N. Njonge in the killing of 75-year-old Jane Britt.

The jurors found him not guilty of first-degree murder but guilty of second-degree murder. The verdict was read this morning after nearly two days of deliberation.

After the verdict was read, Njonge appeared shaken and sullen. His attorney put his right hand on Njonge's shoulder to comfort him.

Njonge, 25, was charged with first-degree murder, accused of strangling Britt in the parking lot of Garden Terrace nursing home in Federal Way and putting her body in the trunk of her Mercedes-Benz.

The jury had the option to consider convicting Njonge of second-degree murder if they could not agree that he was guilty of first-degree murder. A conviction of second-degree murder does not require premeditation. Njonge faces 10 to 20 years in prison when he's sentenced. A sentencing date was not scheduled today.

"It's a bit satisfying that the jury agrees with the family," said Howard Britt, one of Jane Britt's children.

But he also said it was "a bit disappointing" that Njonge was convicted of second-degree murder. Nevertheless, Howard Britt expressed relief that the trial was over.

"I want my mother back," he said.

Deputy prosecuting attorney Carla Carlstrom said she was happy Njonge was convicted.

Njonge's attorney declined to comment afterward.

Four of Njonge's supporters arrived after the verdict was read and broke into tears in the courtroom upon hearing the news from the defense attorney. They left the courtroom without commenting to reporters.

Jane Britt's body was found March 19, 2008. The Federal Way woman is believed to have left the nursing home around 6 p.m. the previous day after visiting her husband, Frank.

Much of the six-day trial centered around DNA evidence.

Prosecutors said Britt scratched her assailant during the fierce struggle before she was strangled, resulting in a large sample of DNA under her fingernails. The State Patrol crime lab matched a full profile with Njonge, who helped take care of Frank Britt and knew Jane Britt.

Njonge's DNA was found under fingernails on both of her hands in an amount equal to Jane Britt's, identifying her killer, Carlstrom said.

Njonge's attorney, Philip Sayles, said the amount of Njonge's DNA found under Britt’s nails was small, amounting to 3 percent of a tip of a pen.

During his testimony, Njonge denied killing Britt and putting her body in the trunk of her car.
Njonge has been in custody at the Regional Justice Center in lieu of $1 million bail.

During closing arguments Monday, Carlstrom said the exact reason Britt was murdered may never be known.

Whether Njonge attacked Britt because of complaints she made about Frank Britt's care or because Njonge was worried about being discovered to have taken Frank Britt’s Costco card wasn’t clear, Carlstrom said.

Sayles sought to dispute circumstantial evidence presented by the prosecution, pointing to a nursing home worker's testimony that Njonge didn't leave Garden Terrace from 6 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. on the night Jane Britt was murdered.

Carlstrom said Britt was slammed up against her car, and her neck was broken by ligature, leaving her paralyzed so she couldn't fight any longer. Then, Britt was strangled her by ligature, Carlstrom said.
What was used to strangle Britt may never be known, Carlstrom said.

Njonge cared regularly for Frank Britt. He died May 21 at Garden Terrace at the age of 78. Frank and Jane Britt were married for 56 years.

A memorial service for Frank Britt is scheduled for Friday.

In his testimony Thursday, Njonge said he wasn't upset by concerns Jane Britt voiced about Frank Britt's shoes not being polished and his teeth not being cared for properly by nursing assistants. Njonge admitted taking Frank Britt's Costco card and a Thomas Kinkade painting and a diamond ring belonging to other residents.

Njonge also testified Thursday that Jane Britt scratched his head with both of her hands on March 18, 2008, in the lighthearted way she had done before because his hair was short.

Sandra Colvin, a head nurse at Garden Terrace, said Monday she never saw Britt touch Njonge's head that day. Moreover, Colvin said she never saw Britt touch or hug any staff member.

Njonge worked with Garden Terrace for less than a year and was with the parent company, Life Care, a total of four years. Garden Terrace is an Alzheimer’s facility at 491 S. 338th St.

Njonge has received traffic citations but has no criminal history in this country. Originally from Kenya, Njonge came to the United States about five years ago.

(Filed by News Tribune reporter Steve Maynard)

The jurors have reached a verdict in the murder trial of of Joseph N. Njonge.

News Tribune Steve Maynard is heading to the courthouse right now to report on what conclusion the jurors reached.

We'll post the news as soon as we get it.

The 25-year-old nursing assistant is accused of killing 75-year-old Jane Britt. The Federal Way woman was strangled in the parking lot of Garden Terrace nursing home in Federal Way. Her body was found by her family in the trunk of her car March 19, 2008.

The jury started its deliberations Monday.

The vehicles are running and it's about time to start doling out the goods.

That's the latest report from Ed Troyer and the Mission to Mexico crew.

Here's his early-morning post on Twitter:

"All vehicles are running good. We're all ready to start giving all this stuff away. I know tomorrow we will have internet connection."

The team left Gig Harbor on Saturday and went across the border earlier this week. They'd made it to San Carlos late Tuesday and were reunited with one member of the group who got stuck at the border crossing with a patrol car that initially didn't clear customs.

The group of 22 volunteers was together again and ready to move forward as a group.

Another Twitter post from last night:

"We're in San Carlos and actually see the ocean, plus everything is running. People are well rested."

UPDATE: The team is moving. The first stop to drop off equipment is Mazatlan.

10:46 a.m. Twitter post: "We just took a 3-mile dirt road to bypass Coolican, which is a reported hot spot. Had a herd of cows we had to wait for."

10:49 a.m. Twitter post: "Lots of little school kids came out and waved. Jose was blowing the sirens. After a long 4 days the new drivers got a taste of why were here."

UPDATE No. 2: In an e-mail to The News Tribune, Troyer said this was the schedule for the rest of the trip...

The team is heading to Mazatlan today and will be spending the night there.

They will go to Ayutla on Thursday and Autlan on Friday. One rig will be delivered to Barra de Navidad on Thursday.

They plan to be in Puerto Vallarta on Saturday. They are scheduled to fly home Sunday.

Tacoma police arrested a 32-year-old man Tuesday night after allegedly finding him engaged in sexual contact with a 13-year-old girl.

The girl and man claimed the contact was consensual but he was arrested nonetheless because of the ages of the two, Tacoma police report.

Officers were dispatched to the alleyway in the 5200 block of South Thompson Avenue shortly before 10 p.m. Tuesday. They had a report of a suspicious vehicle that was occupied and blocking the alley.

Officers arrived and found two people engaged in sexual contact inside the vehicle, police reported. Officers learned the ages of the man and girl, then arrested the man, police reported.

The man was booked into Pierce County Jail on suspicion of second-degree child rape. (Under state law, second-degree child rape can be charged when the victim is at least 12 but less than 14 and not married to the suspect AND the suspect is at least three years older than the victim.)

The scene also was processed, police reported.

A Lakewood Police officer searches a SUV, which reportedly contained multiple gunmen. Brian Everstine/The News Tribune

Lakewood Police arrested at least five suspects and seized AK-47-like guns Tuesday night.

Neighbors say a black GMC Denali sped down 111th Street Southwest and stopped at a house near Freiday Street Southwest at about 8:30 p.m. The people inside the vehicle jumped out, pointing the rifles and screaming at an unknown person or group of people at the house, and a bystander called 911. It is not known what prompted the incident.

No gunshots were reported.

Lakewood Police contained the neighborhood and a Washington State Patrol plane was called out to search for more possible suspects, Lakewood Lt. Heidi Hoffman said. St. Clare Hospital was locked down and officers stood watch on top of a nearby parking garage, watching railroad tracks where a suspect reportedly ran.

As of about 10:30 p.m., no additional arrests were made. Officers searched the house and a police dog searched for a weapon, but nothing was found.

"We are trying to figure out who's who," Hoffman said.

AP file.

It may not reach the level of the great strawberry Pop-Tart fires of the early ‘90s, but Tacoma firefighters have been fighting a new food culprit that has been causing fires across the area.

French fries.

Tacoma Fire spokesman Joe Meinecke said crews have fought a dozen kitchen fires in the past two months, six of which were caused by homeowners cooking French fries.

Monday’s fire at a Nevada Avenue duplex was the latest. The fire gutted the home, caused $100,000 in damage and displaced five people.

Meinecke said that, as always, be careful in the kitchen to avoid fires like Monday’s, especially when using grease.

“Watch what you are cooking,” he said.

The Tacoma Fire Department offers these tips to stay safe in the kitchen:

• Stay in the kitchen when frying, grilling or broiling.
• Check food regularly if you are baking, roasting or broiling. Stay in the house while food is cooking and use a timer as a reminder.
• Keep flammable items away from the stove top.
• Wear short, close-fitting or tightly rolled sleeves.

Firefighters say a 5-year-old boy playing with BBQ lighter ignited a fire that caused nearly $10,000 damage this morning at a Spanaway home.

Central Pierce Fire & Rescue crews were called to the 21800 block of 43rd Avenue Court East just after 10 a.m.

The occupants had gotten out of the home by the time firefighters arrived. Crews found a small fire in the master bedroom closet and quickly doused it, the agency reported.

Paramedics treated the two adult occupants for minor smoke inhalation at the scene. They were then released, the agency reported.

Firefighters investigated what started the fire and learned the boy had found a BBQ lighter and started to play with it. He lit clothes in the master closet on fire, then ran to a neighbor's home without letting his guardian know, the agency reported.

A smoke alarm alerted the adults to the fire.

Our news partner, KIRO TV, went to the fire and talked to one of the adults, who lost her belongings. Find their story here.

The state Court of Appeals for Division II has affirmed four of Tacoma Mall shooter Dominick Maldonado's first-degree assault convictions.

In 2007, a Pierce County jury convicted Maldonado of 15 crimes: attempted second-degree murder, six counts of first-degree assault, four counts of first-degree kidnapping, two counts of second-degree assault and two counts of first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.

He was sentenced to more than 163 years in prison.

Maldonado (seen here)appealed four of the first-degree assault convictions, arguing that prosecutors did not present enough evidence during his trial that he intended to "inflict great bodily harm" when he opened fire in the mall back in November 2005.

The appellate judges disagreed.

"Viewing all the evidence in a light most favorable to the state, there is sufficient evidence that Maldonado intended to inflict great bodily harm when he fired into the mall concourse filled with holiday shoppers," they said in an opinion released Tuesday.

You can read the entire opinion by clicking here.

My story about his sentencing follows:

=> Read more!

A teenager who caused a fatal wreck while driving away from the scene of a prank last year will spend a maximum of one year, seven months in juvenile detention.

Superior Court Judge Kathryn Nelson on Monday sentenced the 17-year-old boy to spend between 34 and 76 weeks in the custody of the state's Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration. That's the standard range. State officials ultimately will decide how much time within that range the teenager should be held.

The boy pleaded guilty last month to one count each of vehicular homicide, failing to remain at the scene of an injury accident and making a false statement to a public servant in the crash that killed Shawn Ausbun (seen here).

The 21-year-old died about 10:30 p.m. Dec. 6 when a Ford Expedition driven by the teenager slammed into Ausbun's Honda Prelude at the intersection of 98th Avenue East and 118th Street East on Puyallup's South Hill. The News Tribune is not publishing the teen's name because he was convicted in juvenile court.

Ausbun was on his way home from work at the time.
Sheriff's deputies said the boy was speeding with his lights off when he ran a stop sign and collided with Ausbun.

Deputies said the teenager was fleeing a nearby house, where a friend of his had rung the doorbell and set off some fireworks as a prank. A resident of the house reportedly came to the door with a gun, thinking the fireworks were gunfire, deputies reported at the time.

Authorities said the teenager then ran away from the scene of the wreck and called 911 to report the Expedition stolen.

The teenager later took full responsibility for his actions, deputy prosecutor Fred Wist said Tuesday.

In a victim-impact statement filed Monday, the victim's mother, Kristy Golden, described her youngest son as a happy and carefree young man who was looking forward to being an uncle to his older brother's first child. Ausbun will be greatly missed, Golden wrote.

"Shawn could have changed the world, but we will never know," she said.

Golden implored the teenager to "change the direction your life is going."

"I hope you use your time to make the right choices, choices you should have made long before you got where you are now," she wrote. "If you had made different choices, we wouldn't be here. Shawn wouldn't be gone."

The teenager's attorney, Philip Thornton, said Tuesday that before being sentenced his client gave an eloquent and heartfelt speech in which he talked of "living his life in honor of Shawn."

"I know he's been really torn up about this," said Thornton, who added his client has been in counseling since the wreck. "It was a sad day for everybody."

A majority of the Mission to Mexico team is across the U.S.-Mexican border and heading south to deliver emergency vehicles and supplies to a handful of towns.

"We are all in Hermosillo safe and ramping up to head south as far as we can get," Ed Troyer tweeted earlier today.

However, one emergency vehicle is stuck. It did not clear customs with everything else so one member of the team has stayed behind.

Troyer plans to blog and post photos of the Mission to Mexico Web site but has had trouble finding an Internet connection. In a brief telephone conversation Monday from the border crossing, Troyer said he's got several blog posts and photos ready to go when he finds a connection.

He's able to Twitter, though, using his phone.

"Ironic we landed is the same town all those kids died last week in the daycare fire. They told us the death toll is 47 now on that fire," he wrote at 12:27 p.m. today.

Here's a story about the day care fire.

UPDATE: The patrol car that hadn't cleared through customs is now across the border.

Pierce County sheriff's deputies have arrested another suspect in last month's robbery of two 12-year-old boys outside a South Hill grocery store.

Deputies arrested the man overnight. He'd been staying in a trailer in Spanaway, Pierce County sheriff's detective Lynelle Anderson said. Investigators had heard he was planning to move to Yakima today.

The man was booked into Pierce County Jail shortly after 4:20 a.m. on suspicion of second-degree robbery and attempted second-degree robbery.

He's one of three people suspected of or sought in connection with the May 16 robbery. Prosecutors charged one of those suspects - John-David Faddis - in the case Monday.

Detectives are searching for the third suspect. They have an idea who it is and were working to identify him, Anderson said.

We have a little more information this morning about a fire Monday night at a Tacoma duplex.

Fire investigators determined the blaze was sparked by a pan left on the kitchen stove. The flames caused an estimated $100,000 damage and displaced five people, the Tacoma Fire Department reported.

The Red Cross was helping those who were left without a place to sleep.

No injuries were reported.

Drivers along North 30th Street should expect some delays today and Wednesday.

Crews will be grinding, then paving the stretch from McCarver to Alder, the City of Tacoma reported.

The construction work is scheduled from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. today and Wednesday.

Drivers will be restricted to one lane during the work.

The work is weather dependent, which means it is subject to change.

A Burlington Northern Santa Fe engineer was injured when his locomotive derailed in a collision at the railway's Tacoma shipyard.

BNSF spokesman Gus Melonas said a train was leaving the yard, bound for Portland, at about 7:45 p.m. when it collided with another train that was switching cars. The locomotive derailed, injuring the engineer and spilling about 1,500 gallons of fuel. Some cars were damaged.

No waterways were affected and no product was spilled. Crews are cleaning up the scene and the trains will be replaced on the rails overnight. No main rail lines were affected.

The engineer was taken to a local hospital, but his condition was not available Monday night.

Tacoma Fire crews work to extinguish a duplex fire Monday night. Brian Everstine/The News Tribune

Tacoma Fire crews are working to put out a fire at a duplex off of South Pine Street in Tacoma.

Fire crews were called out shortly before 9 p.m. for the fire, on the corner of South 36th Street and Nevada Avenue. Flames gutted the east end of the duplex.

Crews cut holes in the roof with chainsaws as firefighters sprayed water on the back of the house. Fire engines have blocked northbound Pine Street.

No injuries have been reported. No cause has been determined, fire spokesman Joe Meinecke said.

Emergency crews are at the scene of a rollover involving a water truck at the interchange of Highway 167 and Highway 410.

The tanker truck rolled over into the median between an exit and the highway. Washington State Patrol troopers and fire crews are at the scene. No injuries have been reported.

A Pierce County jury today delivered guilty verdicts against four men charged with murdering another man outside a Spanaway lounge last year.

Mike Robert McCreven, Carl Lee Smith, Terry Nolan and Barry Ford were convicted of second-degree murder in the death of Dana Beaudine.

The jury also found Nolan guilty of second-degree assault for hitting another man over the head with a sap during an April 5 fight outside the Bull's Eye Sports Lounge.

The defendants are to be sentenced July 24.

Prosecutors contended the four men attacked Beaudine because he made a disparaging remark about their outlaw motorcycle gang.

Prosecutors could not prove which of the men stabbed Beaudine. McCreven, Smith, Nolan and Ford all were convicted as accomplices.

A previous story on the case follows:

=> Read more!

What a surprise ... it's not been a smooth start for a team of South Sound residents who are driving 10 used emergency vehicles to a handful of Mexican towns.

Two vehicles have broken down, hours have been spent in small towns and there was a rain storm in the mountains.

But the good news is, it appears they are planning to cross the border today.

The 22 volunteers pulled out of a Gig Harbor on Saturday morning for the third "Mission to Mexico" trip. Besides the vehicles, which include four patrol cars, a fire truck and ambulance, they'll be delivering medical supplies, soccer equipment, computers and other emergency services gear.

Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer, and three-time mission volunteer, has been delivering on his promise to Twitter from the road. He's sent 24 dispatches since they headed south. We've requested some photos but haven't gotten any yet. (The photo included here is from the first Mission to Mexico trip.)

It's been a bit of a comical start - at least to us back here at home.

"We are on the freeway heading south after a rough start," states a Twitter message at 9:51 a.m. Saturday. "We are passing through Morton."

It appears the man who spearheaded the humanitarian mission after a trip to his hometown of Ayulta four years ago - Jose Lopez - was having fun.

"Making good time will make up for the late departure jose driving fire truck he's happy as a 5 year old Xmas morning," states a Twitter message at 12:59 p.m. Saturday.

The first break down occurred less than four hours later near Grants Pass. It was the fire truck.

"We are back up and running as a group thanks to a kid at the gas station who helped us after the mechanics failed," states a Twitter message at 6:16 p.m. Saturday.

"Now we need to make up 3 hours on grants pass," states a Twitter message at 6:52 p.m. Saturday, "now should be in california by 7 30 if we get through the rain storm have great photos."

The truck lasted only a couple of hours, then broke down again.

"Bad news fire truck dead again we sent everyone on down south," states a Twitter message at 10:09 p.m. Saturday, "jose hauge phil and i are stuck in a town called weed for the night."

The truck and crew got back on the road an hour later. It appears the driving was smooth.

For awhile.

Sunday morning, the air pump of the ambulance blew up. A crew found the parts to fix it but they were 12 hours behind schedule.

"Good news the other 8 vehicles are a few hours away from tucson and will be ready to go tomorrow for the border," states a Twitter message Sunday afternoon.

Meanwhile, the ambulance was getting fixed.

"Well the mechanic started the ambulance," states a Twitter message about 3 p.m. Sunday, "the problem was he left his tools in the engine compartment a wrench wrapped around the transmission."

"Transmission line and tore it off dumping all the fluid in their parking lot. So here we sit again," another quickly-posted message states.

The ambulance and crew got moving again and made it to Los Angeles on Sunday night.

This morning, they were steaming toward the border.

"We are all up and moving about an hour from border the fire truck is in shop getting fixed right gonzo and phil stayed behind with truck," states a Twitter message at 10 a.m.

"If things work out and we are due for that we will see Phil and Gonzo at the border and be rolling south in Mexico by 1 PM," another message states.

There's been no update since. That could be good news.

Or bad.

UPDATE: They've made it to the border. Even the fire truck is there, Troyer Twittered just before 2:30 p.m.

"At the border now we are slowed down due to permits and the large amount of items we have being told that we may hit road at 7 pm," he posted at 2:25 p.m.

He noted the crew is a day behind schedule.

Pierce County prosecutors have charged a 21-year-old man with second-degree robbery and attempted second-degree robbery for allegedly stealing a wallet and cell phone from two 12-year-old boys.

John-David Faddis is scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon.

Prosecutors contend in charging papers that Faddis was one of three young men or older teenagers who robbed the boys as they sat outside the South Hill Safeway store May 16.

One of the robbers told the boys he would "break your jaw" if he didn't hand over his belongings, according to the court papers.

The robbers were captured on store security cameras. Detectives reviewed the footage and created a Crime Stoppers flier requesting information about their identities.

On Friday, a Safeway employee who had seen the flier recognized Faddis as he loitered outside the store and called police, court documents state.

Faddis told detectives he was aware of the robbery and was supposed to get some proceeds from it but "claimed he did not participate," according to charging papers.

Authorities continue to search for the other two robbers.

UPDATE: Faddis pleaded not guilty this afternoon.

Superior Court Judge Frederick Fleming set bail at $25,000.

Tyler Stetson snapped this photo on his way to work today at 6 a.m.

Here's what he wrote The News Tribune:

On my bicycle commute from Tacoma to Kent, I saw this on Dock Street, across from the Sea Scout base. At least there was light traffic at the time!

Another reader, Judy, sent in the photos below.

A teenage girl is recovering and another is jailed after a stabbing Saturday night in Bonney Lake.

Bonney Lake police were called to the 5300 block of South Island Drive just before 10:30 p.m. They found a 13-year-old girl with several stab wounds.

The girl and several witnesses identified a 15-year-old girl as the one responsible for the injuries, police reported.

The victim and her friends had been walking down the street when the suspect came up and confronted the victim, said police spokesman Daron Wolschleger.

"It sounds like there somewhat of a squabble between these two girls over a boy," he said.

Paramedics took the injured girl to Mary Bridge Children's Hospital and Health Center for treatment.

Officers located the suspect, who had fled the scene, and arrested her without incident. Officers booked her into Remann Hall juvenile jail on suspicion of first-degree assault.

A 22-year-old man was seriously injured late Sunday when he failed to negotiate the roadway and hit a fence south of Roy, the Pierce County Sheriff's Department reports.

The man was transported to Madigan Army Medical Center with possible life-threatening injuries, sheriff's spokeswoman Lynelle Anderson said. The man's condition is not known today.

The crash occurred in the 7800 block of 336th Street South shortly before midnight.

The man was on a motorcycle. He went off the roadway and hit the fence.

The investigation was continuing.

A woman was seriously injured early today in a three-car, hit-and-run crash on Interstate 5 in south King County, the Washington State Patrol.

The causing driver, who was in a red Jeep Cherokee, didn't stick around and troopers are now trying to identify that person.

The crash occurred about 2:50 a.m. in the southbound lanes of I-5 at the Kent-Des Moines Road (also known as State Route 516), troopers reported

The Jeep Cherokee quickly went from the left lane to the right lane, exiting onto the Kent-Des Moines Road. The maneuver cut off a 1997 Honda Civic, which then collided with a semi-truck, troopers reported.

The 22-year-old Auburn woman driving the Civic was seriously injured and transported to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for treatment. Her car was totaled, troopers reported.

The semi-truck driver was not injured.

Little is known about the driver of the Cherokee.

The crash closed three lanes of I-5 early today. All lanes were back open by 5 a.m., the state DOT reports.

Troopers continued to investigate.

A 27-year-old Federal Way man is under investigation for vehicular assault after an early morning crash on southbound Interstate 5 in King County left four people injured, the Washington State Patrol reported.

The man, who was behind the wheel of a 2003 Chevy pickup truck, was injured in the crash and taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. A 49-year-old woman who was a passenger in the truck also was injured and taken to Harborview for treatment, troopers reported.

Troopers report the man was driving the pickup truck south on I-5 near South 178th Street in SeaTac at midnight. He hit a Chevrolet Blazer that also was headed south. The Blazer was knocked into the HOV lane and rolled onto its top, troopers report.

The pickup truck struck the left side jersey barrier and rolled into the northbound lanes of I-5. It stopped on the left shoulder, troopers reported.

Paramedics treated the Blazer's driver and passenger at the scene. They were released.

Both vehicles were totaled and impounded.

Troopers suspected alcohol or drugs were a factor and were investigating further.

Kitsap County Sheriffs announced today they are conducting a homicide investigation on the foot and other human remains recently discovered near a construction site in South Kitsap.

Based on the King County Medical Examiner’s preliminary analysis of the remains, it appears they belonged to a male in his late teens or early twenties who died two to 12 months ago.

A construction worker found the initial remains – a severed human foot in an athletic shoe or boot – near the 3100 block of Harold Drive S.E., north of S.E. Lund Avenue and south of S.E. Lundberg Road, according to a sheriff’s news release. After search dogs alerted on a specific location, authorities began excavating the site Monday. They found human bones, which were transferred to the King County Medical Examiner.

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The monthly reports for April were recently posted on the Tacoma Police Department's Web site. Here are some of the highlights from the four sectors and three specialty units.

Sector 1: On April 11 (a Saturday), someone fired a shotgun at the Tacoma Municipal Building and struck a fourth-floor window. No one was in the office at the time.

The community liaison officers located three transient camps - all located underneath State Route 705 - during the month. The occupants were evicted and the area cleaned up. The areas also were fenced.

Sector 2: The department's HEAT team, community liaison officers and narcotics officers served a search warrant on a home in the 1000 block of South Oxford Street, the source of numerous sector complaints from neighborhood residents. The home was the location of a suspected marijuana grow operation. Officers arrested the resident on suspicion of unlawful drug manufacturing and unlawful drug possession with the intent to deliver. Investigators found electrical work that was not code compliant. The power was cut off and the house was boarded up.

Sector 3: Twenty-two police officers from Tacoma, Lakewood, Pierce County and the Washington State Patrol responded to the Tacoma Mall for a report of 20 suspected gang members flashing signs and fighting inside the Food Court area.

The CLOs removed seven homeless encampments in the Old South Tacoma Airport/BN property.

Sector 4: Officers responded to a handful of shootings and shots fired calls during the month. In addition, a business in the 6300 block of McKinley Avenue was robbed at gunpoint. A convicted felon was found inside a stolen vehicle in the 4000 block of Park Avenue. He had a gun. He was arrested and booked into jail.

The CLOs closed 20 suspected drug and/or gang houses and impounded 23 abandoned vehicles during the month.

Gang unit: In April, members of the department's gang unit arrested 47 people on 180 booking charges. Of those arrested, 30 were known gang members or associates and 17 were on active probation with DOC. The team found eight guns.

Among the other highlights, the team arrested a man on the Pierce County's Most Wanted list after a year-long investigation. The man tried to flee during his arrest April 4. Officers found a handgun and a small amount of meth in the man's home.

On April 24, gang officers assisted patrol officers with arresting a man on suspicion of first-degree assault after he stuck a knife to the throat of a store clerk during a robbery.

K-9 unit: The police dogs and handlers made one felony and one misdemeanor arrest. They were called out 140 times and conducted 22 tracks.

Traffic unit: The traffic officers wrote 1,795 tickets and citations in April. Drivers in Sector 4 received the most tickets - 665. Officers also made 19 drunken driving arrests, 11 of which were in Sector 1.

Officers launched a speed emphasis aimed at commuters in the South End. In April, they made 1,320 contacts and issued 958 citations in the targeted areas.

The department issued 1,866 infractions from the city's nine red light cameras.

Just in case you passed by and were wondering ....

This is a press release from Central Pierce Fire & Rescue:

Firefighters from Central Pierce Fire & Rescue responded shortly after 12:00 noon on Friday to a report from Tacoma City Light crews of a possible Hazardous Material spill in the 80th Street and Vickery Avenue. Area. Central Pierce Fire & Rescue Hazardous-Material team responded to find two 55 gallon barrels on the side of the road. One was laying on its side and approximately 25 gallons had leaked out. After testing extensively the Fire Department Hazardous-Material team determined the contents were not of a hazardous nature and the Department of Ecology was called in to remove the barrels and there unidentified contents. There were no injuries.

More than 20 volunteers will be heading out Saturday with emergency vehicles bound for Mexico.

The trip is the third "Mission to Mexico."

The News Tribune chronicled the first two trips.

During this trip, volunteers are taking down 11 emergency vehicles. They'll be delivered to small towns, including Autlan, Ayutla, Barra de Navidad, El Grullo and San Pancho. The trip was originally scheduled for May but was postponed because of the swine flu outbreak.

This year, Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer (who's a volunteer with the mission) promises to blog and Twitter from the road. Follow the progress on the Mission to Mexico Web site here or on Twitter here.

Below you'll find a story from September, which recapped the second Mission to Mexico trip and recounted how the mission began.

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The Stone Drive tunnel is now open to traffic.

The tunnel under the Tacoma Narrows Airport opened at 11 a.m. after issues with the fire detection system were addressed, according to a press release from Pierce County.

The Pierce County fire marshal's final inspections are not yet complete. Until they are, security and fire watch personnel will be posted at the tunnel to report any fire or other, unauthorized activity.

The tunnel was supposed to open Thursday morning.

"We are very sorry for any problems encountered by drivers as a result of the delay," Pierce County Airport and Ferries administrator Michael Esher said in the press release.

Pierce County prosecutors have charged a man with burglarizing a woman's Parkland apartment early Wednesday and then running through traffic on Highway 512 in an attempt to get away.

Andrew Kyle Pinson, 20, was charged Thursday with residential burglary, disorderly conduct and being a minor in possession of or consuming liquor.

Court documents give the following account:

A woman called 911 shortly after midnight Wednesday and reported someone had reached into her bedroom window and tried to open it. She yelled to her 11-year-old son to get help.

A neighbor spotted the suspected burglar running from the back of the apartment. The neighbor followed the suspect after the victim reported what had happened.

The neighbor chased the man as he headed toward Highway 512.

"Officers responded and saw the neighbor pointing down the westbound on-ramp to SR 512 on the corner of 108th and A streets," court documents state. "Several motorists were also flagging the officers down to tell the officer they had seen the suspect running down the on-ramp."

A deputy saw the burglar running eastbound in the westbound lanes of Highway 512.

"The defendant's presence on the highway created an obvious traffic and public safety hazard and almost caused an accident," court documents state.

Another deputy took Pinson into custody a few minutes later as Pinson tried to hitchhike.

Pinson was "highly intoxicated" and said he'd been kicked out of a Parkland strip club. He said he was in the area of the victim's apartment but denied reaching in the window.

Grads and others who might be celebrating commencement ceremonies this weekend consider this a warning.

Law enforcement officers from several south King County cities will be out enforce to make sure everyone gets home safely, the Kent Police Department reports. They hope to prevent serious-injury and deadly crashes by pulling over suspected impaired drivers.

Officers from Kent, Renton, Pacific, Auburn, Federal Way, and Tukwila police departments and the Washington State Patrol will be patrolling the streets, starting late tonight.

Suspected drunken drivers will be taken to Kent, where the State Patrol's Mobile Impaired Drivers Unit will be set up. The Winnebago has three breath test machines, three computer stations for report writing and two holding cells. Troopers will conduct the screening of suspected impaired drivers, Kent police report.

"We want to help make sure everyone celebrating a graduation, whether it's from high school or college, has a safe and enjoyable time," Kent police Sgt. John Cagle stated in a press release. "One bad decision can destroy the rest of your life. Please drive sober."

A woman was killed and five men were critically injured in a wrong-way crash on Interstate 90 early today, the Washington State Patrol reported.

The eastbound lanes of the highway were closed for three hours as troopers investigated the deadly collision. The roadway is back open this morning.

The State Patrol received reports of a silver Volvo car going westbound in the eastbound lanes of I-90 near mile post 47 about 2:40 a.m. Troopers headed to the scene but before they got there, the Volvo hit a Toyota pickup truck head on near the Tinkham Road exit, the agency reported.

The woman driving the Volvo, a 39-year-old Seattle resident, was killed at the scene. The five men inside the pickup were injured and taken to local hospitals for treatment of life-threatening injuries, troopers reported.

Investigators were looking into whether alcohol or drugs were factors in the crash.

Lakewood Fire alumnus Tim Devenney stares down Lakewood Police officer Dave Butts before the first fight begins. Photos by Brian Everstine/The News Tribune

The sellout crowd began to get loud when the fighters approached the stage.

The firefighter's crowd cheered along with his entrance music, police took their turn as the Lakewood officer crossed the ropes.

"If you're ready, we're going to get this started," the announcer boomed.

About 30 fighters entered the ring Thursday night for the Guns & Hoses charity boxing match between area firefighters and law enforcement officers. The funds from the event will go to children's charities.

"This is the biggest crowd we've had," organizer and retired Tacoma cop Chris Taylor said. "It's great news for the charities. The enthusiasm in the crowd is great."

The first fighters in the ring were Lakewood firefighter alumnus Tim "The Halligan" Devenny and Lakewood Police officer Dave "The Silver Bullet" Butts.

The fists flew, with each fighter's blow causing his side of the crowd to go crazy. One short round, and the judges called it. The firefighters won the first one, and Devenny was awarded his belt.

The next round, the cops got their revenge.

The amount that was raised will be released on Friday.

More photos after the jump.

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At 7:34 tonight, Pierce County issued a news release saying the Stone Drive tunnel under the Tacoma Narrows Airport wasn't able to open at 5 a.m. today as planned.

If you live near the Stone Drive tunnel, you probably discovered this the hard way.

"They’re working hard on it and trying to resolve these last-minute issues as fast as they can," county spokesman Hunter George said tonight.

It's unclear exactly when the tunnel will open.

Here's the news release:

Thursday's anticipated opening of the Stone Drive tunnel beneath the Tacoma Narrows Airport was delayed to address issues associated with the tunnel's fire detection system. The tunnel will open when the Pierce County fire marshal, Public Works and Utilities, and the construction contractor resolve several technical and logistical issues.

The tunnel's fire suppression system is in place, but the automated monitoring cameras that detect and report a fire are waiting for installation of an internet connection. Manual pull-station fire alarms also await final testing.

At this time, Pierce County Public Works and Utilities has not authorized that Stone Drive be opened to the traveling public. An announcement will be made when an opening date and time are set.

Two lanes of southbound Interstate 5 are blocked because of a multiple-vehicle crash, the state DOT reports.

The crash occurred about 8:40 a.m. at the Puyallup River Bridge.

Tacoma firefighters and transportation crews are at the scene. Troopers are en route.

The two right lanes are open to drivers. Traffic is backed up for a mile to the Port of Tacoma Road.

UPDATE:The crash has been cleared. All lanes are back up.

Southbound drivers were backed up four miles to Porter Way.

Auburn police are asking the public's help in identifying a man wanted on suspicion of robbing a pharmacy last month.

The police department and Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound are offering up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest in the heist.

The robbery occurred May 20 about 8:45 p.m. at the Walgreens Pharmacy, 1701 Auburn Way S., in Auburn.

The suspect walked in through the store's front doors, jumped over the pharmacy counter and demanded controlled substances, police reported. After getting prescription medicines, the robber ran out the rear emergency exit.

The suspect is described as white, 25 to 35 years old and 6 feet 1 with a medium build. During the robbery, he wore a baseball cap, sunglasses, blue jeans, white running shoes and a blue sweatshirt with the word "Hollister" across the chest.

Auburn police released a surveillance image of the suspect today in hopes of identifying him.

Purdue Pharma L.P., a pharmaceutical company that operates RxPATROL®, put up the money for the cash reward, according to Auburn police. RxPATROL® is an effort among pharmaceutical companies, pharmacies and law enforcement agencies to collect, analyze and get out information on pharmacy theft.

Anyone with information about the robber is asked to call the Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound hotline at (800)222-TIPS (8477).

A 26-year-old Sumner man was killed when the car he was riding in left State Route 167 on Wednesday night and struck a tree, the Washington State Patrol reported.

The 46-year-old driver is now under investigation for vehicular homicide. He was injured in the accident and taken to Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup for treatment.

The Federal Way man was booked into Pierce County Jail about 2:45 a.m. today on suspicion of vehicular homicide.

The crash occurred at 7:45 p.m. Wednesday. A 1992 two-door Acura was headed south on State Route 167 just south of the junction with State Route 512, troopers reported. The car left the roadway and struck a tree.

Michael J. McGowan died at the scene.

UPDATE: The Washington State Patrol reports all lanes were reopened at 11:45 p.m. Wednesday.

From the state Department of Transportation:

A serious-injury collision blocks southbound SR 167 at the SR 512 interchange. Southbound SR 167 traffic is being diverted to westbound SR 512. The eastbound SR 512 on-ramp to southbound SR 167 is also closed. Washington State Patrol and WSDOT Incident Response are on scene.

The crash happened at about 8:45 p.m.

An Auburn Police investigation led to the arrests of multiple suspects at a Puyallup Fred Meyer.

Puyallup Police Lt. Dave McDonald said Auburn police were investigating drug activity, which led to arrests at the River Road and Meridian store, with Puyallup Police assisting. The Washington State Patrol's air unit and a trooper also assisted in the arrests.

McDonald said large amounts of cocaine and methamphetamine were confiscated, and an Auburn K-9 unit was searching the suspects' vehicles for more.

The Tacoma-Pierce County DUI Task Force is launching a DUI-party emphasis patrol this weekend.

About 40 offficers from area departments will work together in two teams to target drunken drivers. They will do it in honor of Timothy "Beau" Bockmann, who was killed in 2007 when he was hit by a drunken driver who was leaving a bonfire party.

The full release is posted after the jump.

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Pierce County deputy prosecutor Tim Jones said today he's not ready to file charges against a 20-year-old man suspected of causing a wreck Tuesday on Interstate 5 that injured nine people, six of them children.

Jones said he will await the results of toxicology tests before deciding what charges if any to bring against the man.

Such tests, which look for drugs or alcohol in someone's blood, can take weeks, the deputy prosecutor said.

The man, who was arrested on suspicion of vehicular assault following the wreck, is still in jail on a hold requested by U.S. immigration officials, according to Pierce County Jail records.

We are trying to track down information on the injured folks' conditions.

One of the people believed to have taken an active role in planning the murder and robbery of an armored car guard in Lakewood last week belonged to a Chicago street gang before moving to the Tacoma area, according to court records obtained by Lights & Sirens.

A witness told police Odies D. Walker, 41, is a "hardcore Black Gangster Disciple" from Chicago who has "previously been shot several times," according to the court records.

Another witness, Walker's adult son, told investigators his father "was a BGD from long ago and had been active in gang life in Chicago before moving to Washington to escape gang life," the documents state.

A Chicago homicide detective contacted by Lakewood police shortly after the Wal-Mart shooting confirmed Walker's Chicago gang ties and e-mailed them a mug shot taken after one of his arrests there, according to the records.

Prosecutors have charged Walker (seen here) with first-degree murder and first-degree robbery in the June 2 death of Kurt Husted, the 38-year-old Loomis armored car guard shot dead and robbed inside the Wal-Mart.

Court records indicate Walker and girlfriend Tonie Marie Williams-Irby planned the robbery and recruited two others to help them carry it out. Williams-Irby worked at the Wal-Mart and had information about Husted's schedule and the amount of money he carried out of the store, according to court records.

Prosecutors say nearly $60,000 in cash and another $140,000 in checks were stolen in the heist.

Detectives believe Walker also drove the getaway car that carried alleged shooter Calvin Finley and accomplice Marshawn Turpin away from the scene of the Wal-Mart shooting.

Hours after the robbery, Walker and Williams-Irby took their children on a shopping spree and then to a $175 dinner at a local Red Lobster, court records state.

Lights & Sirens also has learned that Walker, known as "Smoke" on the streets, owes more than $55,000 in back child support. The state Department of Social and Health Services recently filed a lien against him in Pierce County seeking payment of the money, according to records on file with the Auditor's Office.

A rollover crash is blocking two lanes of northbound Interstate 5 near Mounts Road near DuPont this afternoon.

The crash was reported in the center and left lanes. The incident began at 1:30 p.m.

Troopers and medical aid are on the scene. Transportation crews are headed to the scene.

UPDATE: The state DOT web site also says there is an injury accident on southbound I-5 near the Pierce-Thurston County line.

UPDATE No. 2: The state Department of Transportation reports there are two separate crashes blocking lanes of northbound AND southbound I-5 near DuPont.

The center and left lanes are blocked in both directions at Mounts Road.

Troopers, firefighters and transportation crews are on the scene.

Southbound drivers are backed up three miles to the Fort Lewis Main Gate. Northbound drivers are backed up six miles to Marvin Road.

This is obvious but drivers should expect delays.

UPDATE No. 3 at 2:35 p.m.: Extreme back ups are now being reported because of these crashes.

The southbound back up is 10 miles to the Interstate 5-Highway 512 change. The northbound back up is now up to nine miles to College Street.

UPDATE No. 4 at 3:14 p.m. Backup is now 11 miles on southbound lanes to 84th Street in Tacoma and 10 miles on northbound lanes to Pacific Avenue in Olympia.

State DOT photos.

UPDATE No. 5 at 3:31 p.m.The Washington State Patrol said a Honda Civic driving south on I-5 lost control and slammed into a Ford Expedition, causing the SUV to strike a barrier and roll, The News Tribune's newspartner KIRO-7 reported. The Expedition had nine people inside, three adults and six children. None of the passengers were wearing seat-belts. A 3-year-old boy and a 6-year-old girl were ejected. Both are in critical condition at Mary Bridge Children's Hospital.

A 16-year-old, a 10-year-old and two 9-year-olds were also taken to Mary Bridge. two pregnant women and a man were taken to St. Joseph Medical Center.

The 20-year-old Federal Way man who was driving the Honda Civic was arrested on suspicion of vehicular assault and driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, KIRO reported.

UPDATE No. 6 at 3:53 p.m. Washington State Patrol Trooper Brandy Kessler said crews are removing the vehicles and have opened a lane of southbound traffic.

She said the two women were the mothers of everyone in the car, including the driver, though no ages or hometowns were available.

The driver of the Civic is in custody and being processed.

"We are still investigating why he lost control, but drugs may have been a factor," she said.

A snow slide is blocking the westbound lanes of State Route 410 at the junction with State Route 123 near the Crystal Mountain Ski Resort, the state DOT reports.

Transportation crews are headed to the scene.

The incident began at 1:15 p.m., DOT reports.

UPDATE: The slide has been cleared.

All lanes are open to traffic.

Two weeks ago, 67 volunteers painted over graffiti and cleaned-up sites on the East Side and in the South End.

According to Safe Streets, here are the results of the effort May 30:

* Area 1: 19 total sites, including 10 homes, one church, one retaining wall and seven utility poles.

* Area 2: 10 total sites, including six homes, two businesses and two utility boxes.

* Area 3: Nine total sites, including two homes, a pedestrian bridge and six utility poles.

* Area 4: 12 total sites, including eight homes, three concrete blocks and a wooden barricade.

This won't be good for their Karma.

Pierce County prosecutors have charged a man and woman with burglarizing an East Side Buddhist Temple and being in possession of a stolen vehicle.

Prosecutors charged Michael F. Shelby and Leanne L. Browning on Monday with second-degree burglary and unlawful possession of a stolen vehicle.

Court documents provide the following information:

Pierce County sheriff's deputies responded to the temple at 2625 72nd St. E. just before 8 a.m. Friday. The head monk reported that he'd seen two people go into an unsecured shed and start stealing a Buddha statute, electric hand tool and a weed eater.

The monk took photographs of the suspects and showed them to deputies. Deputies found a red Nissan pickup truck on the property next door that didn't belong there. The truck was reported stolen to Tacoma police.

As deputies investigated the burglary, there was a report of a possible robbery at a Safeway. The suspects had arrived in a blue Ford pickup truck that also had been reported stolen to Tacoma police.

The deputies from the temple responded to the Safeway and identified the two robbery suspects as suspects in the temple burglary.

Browning admitted to deputies she'd been at the temple but claimed Shelby forced her to burglarize the shed. She also admitted deputies would find her prints on the stolen Nissan truck at the temple. The two had been sleeping in the Ford truck, she told deputies.

Shelby denied taken anything from the temple.

I've got a call into Tacoma Power about an outage this morning in downtown Tacoma.

Two lights on South Ninth Street were out. Another reporter said a medical clinic was without power.

I'll report more when I know it.

UPDATE: This comes from the City of Tacoma's Twitter page

I believe the outage was related to the work Tacoma Power is doing in a vault at 9th and Broadway. Sorry for the inconvenience...

UPDATE: Sent to Lights & Sirens by TNT business reporter Kelly Kearsley

Power was out for a few hours this morning in part of Tacoma's Hilltop neighborhood as Tacoma Power workers found and repaired a bad cable.

The initial outage happened at 6:27 a.m. between S. 16th and S. 19th streets from S. K Street to S. I Street, said Sonja Hall, the agency's community relations specialist. The outage affected about 50 customers, including residences and commercial buildings.

Power was back on for most people by 8:30 a.m. and back on for everyone affected by noon, Hall said

Last week's blistering temperatures sparked more than 20 grass and brush fires around the City of Tacoma.

The blazes - fueled by the heat and dry brush - spread quickly, the Tacoma Fire Department reported on its blog.

The department offers the following tips to prevent wildfires as we move closer to summer and (hopefully) more hot days.

* Remove weeds and keep grass cut.

* Any dead and piled up vegetation should be disposed of properly.

* If you have any firewood left over from the winter, stack it away from structures.

* Try not to place plants too close to structures and under overhangs or eaves.

* Provide adequate water to keep plants healthy and green.

* Trash and debris should be disposed of properly.

* Store flammable liquids properly.

* Always dispose of cigarettes in ashtrays.

* Safely dispose of barbecue ashes.

* Observe burn bans.

It's probably not a good idea to report a missing "item," and give your name and phone number if the illicit "item" is found. From The (Spokane) Spokesman-Review:

A Spokane man got some good news and some bad news this weekend from police.

The good news: Ziggy’s employees found the item he apparently lost while shopping at the building supply store Sunday.

The bad news: It was a baggie of methamphetamine, and Ziggy’s called Spokane police.

Pierce County prosecutors have filed charges against a 52-year-old man suspected of robbing the same Spanaway gas station twice last month.

Prosecutors charged Steven R. Wardell with two counts of first-degree robbery Friday. An informant identified Wardell as the robber and sheriff's deputies contacted him Thursday in his trailer, according to charging documents.

Court documents provide the following information:

The first robbery took place May 5. A man walked into the Shell gas station at 15905 Pacific Ave. and asked for a pack of "Kool" cigarettes.

As the clerk handed over the cigarettes, the man demanded money out of the till and threatened to shoot the clerk. The clerk told deputies the robber grabbed the grip of a revolver that had been in his pocket.

The robber forced the clerk to a back room and then left. Deputies released information and surveillance footage of the robbery to the media.

The same man is accused of robbing the same gas station 10 days later. In this robbery, the bandit asked for a pack of "Kool cigarettes."

The man then said, "I am sorry to do this to you. I've got a gun."

The robber showed the butt end of a gun. The clerk asked the man if he was the same person who robbed the store earlier in the month. The man said no and reiterated that he had a gun.

The robber got cash and fled.

The second robbery also was captured on surveillance tape.

A sheriff's detective received a tip about the robber's identity June 1. One of the clerks picked Wardell out of a photo montage. Deputies went to arrest Wardell on Thursday.

"When the defendant answered his door he did not appear to be surprised to see the officers and stated he was 'kind of expecting us,'" court documents state.

While serving a search warrant on Wardell's home and car, deputies found the coat believed to have been used in both robberies.

On the lighter side ...

I just overheard on the police scanner that animal control is responding to South Tyler Street. There are reports that 20 goats are walking south on Tyler from South 56th Street.

Firefighters are battling a brush fire along Highway 18 near Auburn.

The right two lanes of westbound Highway 18 are blocked for the firefighting effort, the state DOT reports.

Troopers, firefighters and transportation crews are on the scene.

UPDATE: Firefighters from the Valley Regional Fire Authority, South King Fire & Rescue and King County Fire District No. 44 have the fire contained. They remain on scene to put out any hot spots, according to a press release from the fire authority.

No injuries were reported. No homes were damage.

Investigators are looking into what sparked the fire.

UPDATE 2: The center lane is now open. The right lane remains blocks.

Tacoma police are searching for a man who robbed a Columbia Bank branch on Friday afternoon.

The man entered the branch at 1959 S. Union Ave. about 4:25 p.m. Friday, police reported. He appeared to be talking on a cellular phone and walked up to a teller. He gave the teller a note that demanded cash and told the teller three times he wanted money, police reported.

The robber ran from the bank with an undisclosed amount of cash. He was last seen going into Allenmore Hospital, police reported.

The robber was described as black, in his mid-20s, 5 feet 11 to 6 feet tall and 175 pounds. He had black hair and wore a long-sleeved, gray T-shirt, bright red orange baseball cap and baggy blue jeans.

Surveillance images of the bandit were released today.

Tacoma-Pierce County Crime Stoppers is offering up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest and charges filed in the bank robbery. Tipsters may remain anonymous.

Call Crime Stoppers at 253-591-5959. Confidential tips also can be submitted to the Tacoma Police Department here.

Crews have closed one lane of westbound Highway 16 at the Burley Olalla Road in Kitsap County to fix a pot hole.

The repair work started about noon and should be done around 2 p.m., the state DOT reported,

The right lane is closed. The left lane is open to traffic.

State troopers and officers who specialize in inspecting commercial vehicles participated in a three-day, nationwide emphasis last week.

The "Road Check 2009" occurred June 2-4 and was sponsored by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance as a way to raise truck safety awareness.

The Washington State Patrol's Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Officers, Commercial Vehicle Division troopers and patrol troopers participated in the event. They had 43 scale stations open.

The statewide results were:

* 1,748 vehicles inspected.

* 431 vehicles placed out of service.

* 41 drivers placed out of service.

* 2,721 violations issued (or 1.5 violations per inspection).

* 43 record of duty status violations (29 hours of service and 14 false record of duty status).

* Two drivers found to be suspected of operating under the influence of alcohol.

* Nine driver's license violations (three suspended, one license withdrawn and five improper endorsements).

* 20 Seatbelt violations.

* 798 CVSA inspection decals were issued to vehicles passing the inspection process.

Kids wearing their helmets and riding their bikes safely this summer could receive a free sub sandwich.

Firefighters from the Valley Regional Fire Authority will be handing out "citations" and coupons for a free, three-inch Subway sandwiches as a reward for safe behavior.

"The 'Safe Rider Citation' program has been in place in parts of King and Pierce County for several years, encouraging children to wear bicycle helmets and follow road safety rules," a press release from the fire authority states.

The agency reports that wearing a bicycle helmet can reduce the chance of a serious head injury by 85 percent.

"We often look for groups of children who are primarily not wearing helmets," firefighter Dave Berg stated in the press release. "We then pick out one or two children with bike helmets and reward them for their smart choice - in hopes of encouraging the others to follow their example."

A Pierce County judge this morning sentenced a young man convicted of killing a fellow student at Tacoma's Foss High School two years ago to more than 23 years in prison.

A jury on April 1 convicted Douglas S. Chanthabouly (seen here) of second-degree murder in the death of Samnang Kok, 17. Chanthabouly gunned down Kok in a hallway at the school before first bell on Jan. 3, 2007.

Prosecutors sought a sentence of 30 years for Chanthabouly, saying he knew that shooting Kok in a crowded school hallway would traumatize students, faculty and staff at the school.

Defense attorneys asked for a sentence of 10 years, three months, saying their client's mental illness played a large part in the crime. They also asked that he be placed on community supervision for the rest of his life when released from prison.

At trial, Chanthabouly's defense team argued that the defendant, who suffers from schizophrenia, was delusion the day he shot Kok, believing the victim was the member of a street gang out to hurt him.

Prosecutors successfully countered that Chanthabouly knew what he was doing when he ambushed Kok and shot him three times.

The TNT story on the verdict appears below:

=> Read more!

Expect overnight closures of northbound I-5 in Kent for bridge repair work

The Washington State Departments of Transportation has issued a traffic alert for next week for overnight traffic in the northbound lanes on Interstate 5 in Kent. Here is the press release:

KENT – Drivers should plan ahead for overnight closures on northbound I-5 in Kent next week.

Crews will close up to four lanes of northbound I-5 at South 259th Place Monday through Thursday nights, June 8-11. Crews will begin closing lanes at 7 p.m. each night, with all lanes reopening by 5 a.m. the following morning. At least one lane will remain open to traffic at all times.

Contractor crews working for WSDOT are repairing northbound I-5 over South 259th Place in Kent. Crews will remove damaged pavement, apply a waterproof seal, and repave the overpass to provide drivers with a safe, smooth ride. The project is scheduled to wrap up by the end of June.

The King County Sheriff's Office posted the following update today on the search for a man missing in Lake Washington after the boat he was in ran out of gas:

Marine units searched Tuesday night for a man missing on Lake Washington. The boat he was in was found, but they did not find the man.

At this point the active search has been called off.

The incident began about 10:30 PM when two men left Ivar’s Restaurant on Lake Union in a 16’ runabout and headed to the east side of Lake Washington. At some point they ran out of gas and drifted north of the 520 Bridge.

The passenger in the boat got into the water, but the wind pushed the boat away from him and he couldn’t swim fast enough to keep up. The boat’s operator, age 49, got into the water with a seat cushion in hopes of helping his friend. But the same thing happened and he couldn’t make it back to the boat.

The man swam for approximately 1½ hours until he reached shore in Kirkland about 12:35 AM and called 9-1-1. Kirkland Police notified the Sheriff's Office and our boat was sent to look for the missing man.

Seattle PD’s Harbor Unit was notified, as was the Mercer Island Marine Unit. Guardian One was launched from Boeing Field.

Guardian One found the boat at 1:25 just north of Juanita Park. No trace of the missing man was found, who was believed to be in his 50’s.

Alcohol may have been a contributing factor in the incident.

Searchers will re-group this morning and decide the next course of action.

Lakewood police have arrested a fifth person in connection with the fatal robbery of armored car guard Kurt Husted.

The woman, thought to be the girlfriend of suspect Marshawn Turpin, was arrested about 5 p.m. Thursday and booked into the Pierce County Jail for investigation of first-degree murder and first-degree robbery, Lakewood police Lt. Heidi Hoffman said this morning.

Police believe she helped Turpin with "transportation after the murder and lied to police about her involvement when first interviewed," Hoffman said in an e-mail.

The woman is expected to be arraigned today, deputy prosecutor Mark Lindquist said.

Four other people, including Turpin, were charged Thursday with multiple felonies, including murder and robbery in the Tuesday attack on Husted at the Lakewood Wal-Mart.

UPDATED as of 1:57 p.m.: Lindquist charged the woman, 18-year-old Brittney Marie Maas-Baines, with one count each of first-degree rendering criminal assistance and obstructing a law enforcement officer.

She pleaded not guilty.

Lindquist alleges in court documents that Maas-Baines loaned Turpin her car so he could drive to the Wal-Mart before the attack on Husted and later lied to police about her involvement in the case.

Maas-Baines told detectives Turpin never told her about his alleged involvement in the fatal robbery.

Judge Frederick Fleming set bail at $1 million at the request of Lindquist.

The City of Tacoma is sponsoring a citywide clean-up Saturday.

"The clean sweep event is an opportunity for our community to come together and take pride in Tacoma's neighborhoods through cleanups, graffiti removal and open space cleanups," a press release states.

Officials selected five sites for cleanup. The locations were chosen based on crime, nuisance, overgrowth and graffiti data along with information about other clean ups this year.

The following will take place from 9 a.m. to noon:

Central District Neighborhood Cleanup (6th Avenue to South 12th Street, Sprague Street to Orchard Street).

Open Space Cleanup at Garfield Gulch and Julia's Gulch.

Graffiti Removal in Northeast Tacoma.

Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) Property Security Evaluations (near 6th Avenue – South 8th to North 8th streets, from Steele to Alder streets).

The PAC/YAK neighborhood cleanup will take place Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The boundaries for that cleanup are Pacific Avenue to Yakima Avenue, South 64th to South 72nd streets.

Afterward, volunteers are invited to a celebration from noon to 3 p.m. at Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium. The event is for all volunteers who've picked up garbage and debris during a neighborhood or clean up this year. Volunteers get admission to the zoo, a hot dog and soda.

For more information, call Community Relations Office at (253) 591-5054 or visit the Web site.

Here's what happened, according to the Valley Regional Fire Authority.

Firefighters from the Valley Regional Fire Authority, the Kent Fire Department and South King Fire and Rescue battled a fire in a detached one car garage that had spread to an adjacent detached garage and a nearby home in the 300 block of D Street SE in Auburn this afternoon. A second home sustained damage to the exterior. All occupants were safely evacuated and there were no reported injuries. One family has been displaced from their home and is receiving assistance from the Red Cross. Three vehicles were also damaged in the fire. Fire investigators are currently on scene but no fire cause has been determined at this time.

Pierce County prosecutors filed aggravated first-degree murder charges against two of the four people arrested in connection with the deadly robbery of a Loomis armored guard earlier this week.

The state's highest charge was filed against Calvin Finley, 34, and Marshawn Turpin, 20. The two also were charged with first-degree murder, first-degree robbery and first-degree assault in the death of Kurt Husted. Finley also was charged with first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.

Finley and Turpin were each ordered held in Pierce County Jail in lieu of $5 million bail during their arraignments this afternoon.

Prosecutors charged the other two suspects - Odies D. Walker, 41, and his girlfriend, Tonie Marie Williams-Irby, 42 - with first-degree murder and first-degree robbery. They were each ordered held in lieu of $2 million bail during their arraignments.

Not guilty pleas were entered on behalf of the defendants. Husted's family were not present during the hearing. Supporters of the defendants did attend but declined to speak with the media afterward.

Chief criminal deputy prosecutor Mark Lindquist said the accused are charged with a "a brutal and sophisticated crime."

SWAT teams arrested Finley, Walker, Williams-Irby and Turpin on Wednesday after detectives developed information that they were the people who conspired to rob a Loomis Co. guard who was picking up cash Tuesday from the Wal-Mart and a bank branch inside the store. Until her arrest, Williams-Irby worked at the store.

Loomis employee Kurt Husted was shot in the head then robbed of a money bag containing thousands of dollars. Wal-Mart customer Wilbert Pina was hit in the shoulder by the bullet that killed Husted, 39.

Finley is the man suspected of firing the fatal round. He has criminal record in Washington and Wisconsin that includes more than 20 convictions, including felony counts of residential burglary, second-degree assault and violating a domestic-violence protection order.

In 2006, he pleaded guilty to a felony count of violating a domestic-violence protection order and was sentenced to one year, three months in prison.

According to court records in that case, Finley knocked on the window of his ex-girlfriend's house, displayed a handgun and demanded that her new boyfriend come outside. He later fired a shot in the air before driving away, the court records state.

In a press conference after the arraignments, Lindquist said his office hasn't decided whether to seek the death penalty against Turpin and Finley. Aggravated first-degree murder is punishable by death or life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Lindquist also said investigators believe the defendants stole about $60,000 in cash and $140,000 in checks from the Wal-Mart. More than $40,000 cash has been recovered but none of the checks. Investigators continue to search for the rest of the cash and the checks.

MORE DETAILS: Charging documents provide the following information about the deadly robbery.

Williams-Irby, Walker and Finley hatched the robbery scheme about a month ago. Because she was a Wal-Mart employee, Williams-Irby was briefed at meetings about the weekly and monthly income of the store. (Williams-Irby and Walker lived together and Finley is a friend.)

"She reportedly told co-defendants Walker and Finley that 'hundreds of thousands of dollars' could be had from the armored car," court documents state.

The three had conversations about the plan and tried to recruit another man to be the "triggerman." He declined. The man reported seeing three guns at Walker and Williams-Irby's place. He also saw the stolen Buick Skylark that was eventually used as the getaway car.

At one point, the man leaded against the car. Walker told him to get away and not get his fingerprints on it because it was going to be used in the robbery.

In the three days before the robbery, Finley stayed with Walker and Williams-Irby. Finley and Walker went to the Wal-Mart and watched and timed the movements of the armored car and guard who carried the money bags.

They then recruited Turpin to be involved.

Williams-Irby was working Tuesday, the day of the robbery. The armored car showed up and Husted went inside the store. Walker then drove up in the white Buick and Finley and Turpin got out of the passenger side. The movements were captured on video surveillance tape.

Less than a minute later, Husted left the accounting office inside Wal-Mart and walked past the customer service section, located near the front door.

"As he is about to turn toward the exit, Turpin and Finley approach the guard with Finley slightly ahead," court documents state. "Finley pulls out a handgun and within two seconds of pulling out the gun, he points it at the guard's face and fires."

Husted collapsed.

"Finley then calmly turns and exits the store," court documents state. "Turpin, who is also armed, swoops down and grabs the money from the guard's cart on the floor and begins running out of the store behind Finley."

The two jumped into the Buick as it moved and fled. The three then split up.

Court documents state Williams-Irby and Walker went on a shopping spree and out to dinner at Red Lobster that night, spending $175. Finley went to a motel in Fife; Turpin went to his girlfriend's house.

Investigators recovered more than $40,000 believed to be stolen in the robbery. Finely have more than $20,000 in a safe in the trunk of his car. Williams-Irby and Walker have more than $20,000 in a safe in their home.

In an interview with investigators, Finley appeared calm. "He admitted that he walked up to the guard and shot him in the face, but said the shooting wasn't intentional," court documents state.

Turpin initially denied any involvement. Later, he admitted he as involved.

The charging documents transcribed part of Turpin's interview with law enforcement.

A detective asked if there was anything he would like to say to the family of the dead guard if he had the opportunity.

He hung his head and said softly, "Sorry, I guess."

The detective said, "You guess you're sorry? A man was shot dead for money."

"I wouldn't apologize. What would that do. He's already gone."

"If you would have gotten away with this," the detective asked, "how would you have felt?"

"Bad, but, but I would have gotten over it because of the money."

A 24-year-old man was killed and his roommate arrested after an early morning incident at a Federal Way apartment complex.

Federal Way police officers were called to the Cascade Ridge Apartments, 1900 S.W. Campus Drive, just after 1:05 a.m. When they arrived, they spotted areas of blood outside a building, Federal Way police reported.

They found Jose Alfredo Jiminez mortally injured from stab wounds and unconscious. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene, police reported.

Officers also found a man who was trying to leave the area. They detained him and learned he was Jiminez's roommate. He was arrested and booked into King County Jail in connection with the homicide.

A motive for the deadly encounter was not immediately released.

A federal grand jury has indicted five real estate professionals - four of whom live in the South Sound area - in connection with a complex mortgage fraud scheme that cheated banks and property sellers out of more than $18 million.

The five indicted are: Humberto Reyes-Rodriguez (who also goes by Tony Reyes), 42 of Federal Way; Alexis Ikilikyan (also known as Haikanush Ikilikyan), 29, of Auburn; William S. Poff, 37, of Michigan; Micki S. Thompson, 54, of Tacoma; and Mario A. Marroquin, a 38-year-old Kent resident.

The grand jury indicted the five on charges of conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud and money laundering, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office. The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Investigators arrested the five Wednesday. Each made a court appearance Wednesday afternoon.

According to federal authorities, the accused got financing from banks and, in some cases, from sellers. The sellers were convinced to extend private loans for a portion of the purchase price, the press release states.

"These private loans, which were not disclosed to the banks, as well as a web of fictitious rental companies, allowed the conspirators to obtain loan proceeds far beyond the value of the assets securing those loans, and beyond their ability to pay," the press release states.

The transactions took place across the Puget Sound region, including in Des Moines, Tacoma, Seattle, Puyallup, Spanaway, SeaTac, Auburn, Bellevue, Renton, Lakewood, Fircrest, Kent, Pacific and Issaquah.

The press release provides this information from the indictment:

REYES-RODRIGUEZ and ALEXIS IKILIKYAN worked as both licensed real estate agents and mortgage loan originators. ALEXIS IKILIKYAN’s ex-husband, WILLIAM S. POFF was a licensed notary and worked as a loan originator. MICKI S. THOMPSON was an employee of Great American Escrow who acted as the closing officer for many of the fraudulent sales.

Between 2005 and 2008, the conspirators used straw buyers to purchase and resell properties, obtaining more than 80 loans totaling more than $18 million. The conspirators submitted a variety of false information to the banks such as employment, income, citizenship status, assets and liabilities. The conspirators also submitted false appraisals and created fictitious companies that were allegedly doing repair work on the properties. Money at closing would go to these entities that, in reality, had done no work on the property. Defendant MARIO A. MARROQUIN headed fictitious repair companies and acted as a straw buyer.

In this scheme, the conspirators did not just damage banks and financial institutions. Innocent sellers were harmed when they agreed to loan the buyer a portion of the purchase price, to be paid back over time. The sellers did not know that the conspirators had already obtained 100 percent financing from commercial lenders. When payments were not made and properties fell into foreclosure, and then were sold for less than the total of all loans secured by the property, the sellers holding private notes were left with nothing.

The five face up to 20 years in prison and $1 million in fines if convicted as charged.

The four people arrested in connection with the deadly robbery of a Loomis armored guard earlier this week will make their court appearances today.

The three men and woman will appear before a Pierce County Superior Court judge at 1:30 p.m. They are expected to be arraigned on charges connected to the slaying and robbery of Loomis guard Kurt Husted as he left the Lakewood Wal-Mart on Tuesday afternoon.

The four were arrested late Tuesday and Wednesday.

The four - Calvin Finley, 34; Odies D. Walker, 41; Tonie Marie Williams-Irby, 42; and Marshawn Turpin, 20 - were booked into Pierce County Jail on suspicion of first-degree murder, first-degree assault and first-degree robbery.

UPDATE: Area detectives are looking into whether these suspects were involved in any unsolved robberies. Among those is a string of 11 takeover-style robberies in the region, including five in Pierce County. In one of those robberies, a bullet grazed the face of a patron at Oh! Gallagher's Pub in Lakewood.

Find my story in April about those robberies below.

=> Read more!

A Pierce County jury on Wednesday convicted a 25-year-old man of first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree assault and one count of first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm in the 2006 shooting death of Tavarrus Moss.

Aquarius Tyree Walker is to be sentenced June 12.

Moss, 24, died after being shot in the head July 29 during a fight outside a Lakewood tavern.

Walker claimed he fired into a crowd because he was trying to protect Moss and his brother, Henri Moss, as they fought with rival gang members.

Henri Moss and another man also were hit but survived.

Pierce County prosecutors charged Walker with first-degree murder, claiming he acted with extreme indifference to human life while engaging in conduct that created a grave risk of death.

A first-degree murder conviction carries a minimum sentence of 20 years in prison, but Walker will face more time because he used a gun in the crime.

Kurt Husted was taking lessons to become a helicopter pilot when he was killed yesterday at the Lakewood Wal-Mart in a robbery.

Airwork LLC, the Auburn flight school where Husted was getting lessons, is now putting together a scholarship fund in Husted's name.

Here's the press release from Airwork:

In light of the recent tragedy involving the murder of Loomis guard Kurt A. Husted, Airwork LLC, Kurt's flight school would like to announce that we are offering a Kurt A. Husted Memorial Scholarship. Kurt's passion for his job and his future in the aviation industry has left a mark on us all here at Airwork LLC. With this scholarship we hope to create something positive out of such a horrible set of circumstances. We want to remember Kurt's desire to better himself and those around him and create a catalyst to help propel other flight students toward their dreams and career goals.

The Kurt A. Husted Memorial scholarship will be awarded each year to a student who demonstrates his or her intense desire to become a professional pilot, and who might need some financial assistance along the way. Since Kurt was so close to achieving his aviation goals, Airwork LLC will give special consideration to scholarship candidates who are close to reaching their goals but need a little extra help to get over the remaining financial hurdles.

Currently, the scholarship award is $1,000. Airwork LLC is working hard to try and raise even more money for this scholarship fund through aviation industry contacts and individuals. Anyone wishing to obtain more information about this scholarship or to donate toward the scholarship fund should contact Airwork LLC's office at (253) 887-1962 or Airwork LLC’s General Manager Nick DuBay directly at (253) 651-7101.

Airwork LLC website: www.airworkllc.com Email ndubay@airworkllc.com.

UPDATE: The flight school has set up a donation account at Wells Fargo under "Kurt A. Husted Memorial Fund." Donations can be made at any bank branch.

The family of Kurt Husted has released the following statement this morning:

We mourn deeply the loss of Kurt Husted. He was a wonderful, caring person whom we loved deeply and will miss forever. He was also a very private person. As such, we will not be making any public statements, we will not be providing interviews and we will not provide any pictures of him. This is being done completely out of respect for the privacy of Kurt and his family. Further, we would like to request that our family simply be allowed to grieve privately, which is what Kurt would have wanted for us.

We are learning more today about the Loomis armored car guard who was killed Tuesday during a robbery at the Lakewood Wal-Mart.

Kurt Husted, 39, was a 16-year employee of Loomis.

He was also known as racer No. 134 for the Washington Motorcycle Road Riders Association. He was a long-time racer and raced a 250cc GP two-stroke motorcycle, said Allister MacKinnon, president of the road racing association.

"That's terrible, terrible news," MacKinnon said. "He was a respected rider."

On the Pacific Northwest Motorcycle Riders Web site, one rider used to hang out with Husted.

"I used to hang out and pit by him when I was racing in the early to mid '90s," the commenter said. "He was a great guy."

UPDATE: Julie Williams stopped by Kurt Husted's house in South Tacoma on Wednesday morning with her son. She brought a card and a bouquet of flowers.

She left them on the porch not knowing he had sold the house five months ago.

She remembers Husted as the smiling Loomis Armored Car man who serviced the Keybank in Lakewood where she worked years ago. She hadn't seen him in 10 years.

"You remember your Loomis guys," she said.

And Husted, she recalled, "was just happy all the time. And he loved his motorcycles."

When news went public Tuesday about a Loomis car driver killed in the Lake wood Wal-Mart, Williams said her "heart just sank. I used to work in Lakewood and knew the Loomis guys. I thought please let it be someone I don't know."

Banks and armored cars are tied together by money and workers in both know the potential dangers.

"You always kept an eye out for each other," she said. "Anything can happen out there."

Bob Blakely lived next door to Husted for five years until Husted sold the house.

"He was like a really nice guy," Blakely said. "I didn't know him personally. We didn't do things together. He was a quiet neighbor."

But they talked like neighbors do.

"He was into racing his motorcycles," Blakely said, "the dirt type racing bikes."

He said Husted told him once he was interested in a police job and at one point had put out some applications.

Blakely said the killing "just sacred me to death. This totally blew my sense of personal safety."

At Loomis' Tacoma office, General Manager Dan Rushing referred all questions about Husted to their cooperate office in Houston.

A company spokesman said there were preparing information on Husted to provide to the media.

Rushing did say that Husted "was everybody's favorite. It was a terrible thing, a senseless act you can't say anything about because you can't understand it."

UPDATE 2: Husted raced this year in Oregon for the Oregon Motorcycle Road Racing Association. Those who knew him are remembering him here.

(Photo courtesy of Nick DuBay)

UPDATE as of 2:55 p.m.: Law enforcement officers have taken a fourth person into custody who is believed to be part of the investigation. He was taken into custody at a Tacoma residence without incident.

The man arrested this morning in Fife had been detained and interviewed at the Lakewood police headquarters. We believe he's might be on his way to the jail now.

NEWEST INFORMATION: Lakewood police have arrested three people in connection with deadly shooting of the armored car guard.

Lakewood police Lt. Heidi Hoffman says one of those arrested might be the gunman. Investigators are not saying any more.

Detectives are searching for at least one more person - possibly more - in the shooting.

The two men and woman arrested so far were taken into custody without incident. A 41-year-old man and 42-year-old woman were arrested together shortly before midnight at a Pierce County address, Hoffman said. They were in a vehicle together.

This morning, a 35-year-old man was arrested during a traffic stop in Fife. The arrest was without incident, Hoffman said. Officers impounded the car the man was in and served a search warrant on a motel room.

OLDER POSTS

ANOTHER UPDATE: KIRO TV is reporting the suspected gunman is custody.

UPDATE: Another man has been arrested in connection with the Loomis armored car robbery-homicide. The man was taken into custody during a traffic stop in Fife, Lakewood police reported.

Lakewood police have arrested two people in connection with Tuesday's shooting death of an armored car guard during a robbery at a Lakewood Wal-Mart store but the two are not the main suspects.

The two in custody are a man and woman.

"They are involved but they are not the two shown in the photographs," Lakewood police Lt. Heidi Hoffman said.

More arrests are anticipated today, she said. Lakewood police investigators believe they have identified the two men in the surveillance photographs who were seen leaving the Wal-Mart after the shooting just before 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Now, it's just a matter of finding them.

Lakewood police booked the man into Pierce County Jail just after 4 a.m. on suspicion of first-degree murder, first-degree robbery, first-degree assault and unlawful drug possession. The woman was booked into the jail just after 3:45 a.m. on suspicion of first-degree murder, first-degree robbery and first-degree assault.

Lakewood and Tacoma police as well as Pierce County sheriff's deputies and federal law enforcement authorities are investigating the robbery and shooting, which left a Loomis armored car guard dead inside the Wal-Mart at 7001 Bridgeport Way.

The guard, Kurt Husted, was on his way out of the store when he was shot. He had gone to the Anchor Bank inside the store, then to the Wal-Mart office, Hoffman said.

"His last stop was to the Wal-Mart office," she said. "He was picking up money from the office."

"This is just brutal. They weren't trying to get this money without violence," Hoffman said.

Lakewood also is getting assistance from Puyallup, Fife and other surrounding police agencies.

A search warrant was served at a home in University Place this morning in connection with the deadly shooting. The home has been secured for Lakewood detectives, according to law enforcement. Another search warrant was served in Tacoma.

"We have had multiple search warrants this morning," Hoffman said.

Pierce County Superior Court Judge Bryan Chushcoff on Tuesday sentenced a 36-year-old Tacoma man to two years, two months in prison for causing a car wreck that killed a Spanaway man.

Enrique Barbosa Jr. pleaded guilty in February to one count of vehicular homicide in the April 5, 2008, death of Jose L. Diaz, 39.

Barbosa was at the wheel of a 1995 Ford Taurus that crashed into a tree on Portland Avenue East. He suffered a serious leg injury in the crash. Diaz, his passenger, died at the scene.

Investigators said Barbosa had been drinking alcohol prior to the crash.

See a gallery of images here.

A Pierce County judge on Tuesday ordered the 53-year-old man suspected of opening fire on sheriff's deputies jailed without bail for 72 hours.

Superior Court Judge Frederick Fleming granted the request of deputy prosecutor Mark Lindquist, who said investigators need time to continue collecting evidence against Rick Alan Lundgren.

Lundgren was arrested Monday and booked for investigation of attempted murder after a shooting at a house in the 17100 block of Fifth Avenue Court East in Spanaway. One deputy suffered a minor hand wound.

The two deputies were dispatched to the house about 2 p.m. for a "trouble unknown" call.

A 71-year-old woman reported to be Lundgren's girlfriend had been tied up inside the house, authorities said. She escaped just prior to the shooting.

Lindquist said outside court detectives are investigating whether Lundgren committed any crimes against the woman.

Public defender Lisa Contris, who represented Lundgren at his first appearance, requested that her client undergo an evaluation to determine his mental competency to stand trial.

Fleming did not rule on that request Monday.

Lindquist said he expects to charge Lundgren by Thursday.

Robberies of armored trucks - like today's deadly shooting in Lakewood - are highly unusual in Pierce County.

The last robbery of an armored car that I can find was last year in Snohomish County.

An armored-car guard was pepper sprayed Sept. 30 outside the Bank of America branch. The robber grabbed the money and reportedly floated down the Skykomish River on a tube.

The suspect was arrested in November. The money also was recovered.

I can't recall an armored car robbery in Pierce County in my years here. Robberies of banks, convenience stores and pharmacies, yes. I looked through our electronic library and don't see any incidents the past 10 years.

UPDATE: One veteran robbery detective remembers a heist involving an armored car 10 to 15 years ago, Tacoma police spokesman Mark Fulghum said.

Armored trucks are not targeted, in general, because the robberies are not too successful.

One guard has been killed and another person injured in the robbery of an armored vehicle at the Lakewood Wal-Mart store, the Pierce County Sheriff's Department reported.

The shooting victim has been identified as a Loomis armored car employee, Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said.

"We think one of the suspects walked up, shot him (the guard) and took the bag," sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said.

A second person - identified as a customer - was also injured. The customer has been taken to Tacoma General Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

The Lakewood Police Department is the lead investigating agency. Tacoma police officers and Pierce County sheriff's deputies responded to the scene and helped search for the two suspects. The Washington State Patrol's airplane also assisted.

The suspects are being described as two black men. One is 6 feet tall, average build and wearing a white hat with colored trim across the bill, long sleeve white shirt, black pants. The second suspect is 6 feet to 6 feet2 and wearing a blue baseball hat, blue short sleeve button up shirt over a white t-shirt, blue jeans.

They might be in a white, four-door 1993 Buick Skylark with Washington license plate number 352RMD. It was reported stolen in Tacoma on April 20.

The car has since been found abandoned in Tacoma. Lakewood police were working on the car for leads.

The shooting took place shortly before 1:30 p.m. at the store at 7001 Bridgeport Way. Initial reports were that the shooting was connected to an attempted hijacking of an armored car.

One of the two guards from the armored car was killed inside the store.

As a precaution, officials locked down Mount Tahoma High School at 4634 South 74th Street. It is now reopen.

A Lakewood police officer was involved in a car crash at South 72nd Street and Interstate 5. Tacoma police officers were responding to that scene.

UPDATE at 2:20 p.m.: Mount Tahoma High School was just released from lockdown. Students will be dismissed as normal.

UPDATE at 2:40 p.m.: Bridgeport Way is being reopened to traffic.

WITNESS ACCOUNT: Patti O'Callahan of University Place was at the front of the store, shopping for baby clothes, when shots were fired nearby.

"About two minutes after I walked in I heard the gun go off," she said. "Everybody was screaming and running all over the store. They were trying to find crevices to hide in."

O'Callahan said she was distracted by a young boy near her and didn't think to hide.

"There was boy on my left who was separated from his mother on my right," she said. "I wanted to make sure he was OK."

Store employees quickly opened all the building'S emergency exits at the back of the store and evacuated customers.

"The parking lot is filled with people," she said.

SECOND WITNESS ACCOUNT: Lisa Potter Maul of University Place said she arrived at the customer service area of the Wal-Mart within minutes of the shooting.

“I was just walking in the door and two men ran past me,” she said. She did not get a good look at the men.

She saw a man she believed to be one of the armored car’s guards, lying on his stomach with a pool of blood around his head.

“There was a lot of people trying to get out,” she said. “Most were getting out the other doors.”

“I was just freaked. I thought it was something fake.”

Wal-Mart officials and police told bystanders to get outside, Maul said. She saw officers from Tacoma, Lakewood and Pierce County, as well as a SWAT team.

Police interviewed her about what she saw. She recalled hearing that three men had fled the scene in a car, and that there was gunfire in the parking lot – but she didn’t hear shots. She also said she heard that someone was still locked in the armored car, but she didn’t know who.

THIRD WITNESS: In an e-mail to The News Tribune, a Gig Harbor woman tells about what she saw and heard inside the store.

I was in the dressing room with my 5yr old son when the shot went off. My first thought was that something very large got dropped, but then all the screaming and running started. I got down on the floor with my son under me and wedged my foot against the door... we were in there for a few minutes until I could hear an employees radio near me, they were saying to get the people out the back emergency exits. A female employee came and got us out of the dressing room and took us near the registers where there was a large group hiding as best they could. Then a male employee sent the group out towards the garden center area, I exited the emergency exit near the pharmacy. Several police were already there and the armored truck was being moved further from the store with police cars near it.

We are still shaken up and I am so sad to hear that someone died.

Please pass along a thank you to the employees for their quick efforts & my prayers will be with the family of the (men?) injured and killed.

FOURTH WITNESS ACCOUNT: Charo Canto, a resident of Switzerland who is visiting friends in the Tacoma area, was in the store buying mineral water when she heard two shots.

"I thought it was something big – like 911," Canto said, her friend Cecilia Cotten interpreting.

She said she patted herself all over her body to make sure she wasn't hurt and "gave thanks to God" when she found she wasn’t.

Canto said she then was herded outside like everyone else.

In addition to the shooting at the Lakewood Wal-Mart, Tacoma police are dealing with a pursuit and crash on Proctor Street west north of Sixth Avenue.

Two men were in custody. Tacoma police and a fire engine was on the scene just before 2 p.m.

The intersection was blocked.

While reading an essay this morning on legalizing marijuana, a 17-year-old Peninsula High School student pulled out a joint and lit it, the Pierce County Sheriff's Department reports.

The student smoked the joint, then swallowed the remnants. He's now in Remann Hall juvenile jail on suspicion of possession of marijuana, sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said. The Pensinsula School District is also reviewing what happened.

"If people want that law changed, they need to go about it the right way and not flaunt it," Troyer said.

About 150 students and teachers were gathered in the auditorium at Peninsula High School this morning, sharing essays, Troyer said.

One student read his essay arguing for legalizing marijuana, pulled out a joint and started smoking it.

The school resource officer was called. By the time the deputy arrived, the student had finished smoking and swallowed the remnants, Troyer said.

A small amount of marijuana was found in the student's possession. The boy was arrested and taken to Remann Hall juvenile jail. His parents were contacted, Troyer said.

UPDATE: The Peninsula School District has released some information about what happened this morning at Peninsula High School.

Each month, the English department at Peninsula High School has a gathering to celebrate student work in English classes. The gathering is called "Rhetoric Rebels," said Terry Bouck, the district superintendent.

"It's really a vehicle for showcasing students work," Bouck said.

The students present their assignments in class first, then turn them in for grading. A selection of the assignments are chosen for presentation during the monthly gatherings.

The English department has had this tradition for the past 10 years with no problem, Bouck said.

That is until today.

Three 11th grade English classes were gathered together for the monthly "Rhetoric Rebels." The students had written persuasive speeches a couple of weeks ago, Bouck said. The students turned them in without an ending.

The students who were selected to present today had new endings on their speeches.

The 17-year-old boy was among those chosen for today's "Rhetoric Rebels." He gave his persuasive speech on the legalization of marijuana.

"At the end of his speech, he pulled out a marijuana joint, lit it and began to smoke it," Bouck said.

Officials brought the student to the office, "where appropriate action was taken," Bouck said.

He declined to be more specific about the discipline the student faces.

"We really support freedom of speech but when someone does something illegal in our schools, we take swift action," the superintendent said. "We encourage diverse opinions but we also have a no tolerance for any type of drugs or alcohol in our schools and will take immediate action."

The two left lanes of southbound Interstate 5 near Bridgeport Way are blocked this morning because of a crash, the state Department of Transportation reports.

Drivers are getting around the crash using the two right lanes.

The incident began just before 10 a.m.

Troopers and transportation crews are on the scene. Drivers should expect delays.

UPDATE: The lanes are cleared. Drivers should expect delays until the back up clears up.

State firefighters are battling a wildfire in the Wilkeson area.

The fire was spotted near the Sunset Lake Quarry, 30820 Quinnon Road E., and reported to the state Department of Natural Resources on Sunday afternoon, said dispatcher Nicole Anderson. Firefighters have built a trail around the 14-acre fire and were attacking the interior of the blaze today.

"It's 100 percent trailed right now," Anderson said this morning.

There are high east winds today so firefighters will be closely monitoring the weather conditions.

No homes or structures are being threatened.

"It's actually been a pretty decent fire," Anderson said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, Anderson said.

The state Department of Natural Resources raised the fire danger ratings in Lincoln, Spokane, Okanogan and parts of Stevens counties last weekend. The rating was increased from low to moderate.

The changes were announced yesterday. This warm weather sparked the wildfire season. The agency offers this advice:

DNR urges caution in debris burning. Make sure there is a fire break around all debris pile burning and extinguish debris fires with water and a shovel. The leading causes for debris fires becoming a wildfire are failure to construct a fire break and failure to extinguish the burn pile.

This was in my Inbox this morning:

Last night, I am thinking 2 AM, the power shut down the whole neighborhood with a boom just for a minute. This morning, obviously something has happened on Military Road South in Lakewood just past Washington Blvd SW, traffic is diverted on to small neighboring roads.

Lakewood police Lt. Heidi Hoffman reports that a car hit a power pole.

That would explain the boom and the power outage.

It wasn't immediately known whether the car's driver was injured.

UPDATE: Hoffman reports there were no serious injuries. The driver declined medical aid.

The Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office has identified the man killed early Sunday as Jonathan Ragland, 27.

Ragland was shot in the head early Sunday as he drove near South 74th and Oakes streets. His backseat passenger also was shot. The Cutlass crashed and Tacoma police officers discovered the shooting victims.

No arrests have been reported in the double shooting. Here's today's story with the latest information in the case.

Ragland's death is the fifth homicide this year in Tacoma.

Deputies are at the scene of a report of a suicidal man in the 500 block of 127th Street South in Parkland.

The deputies had been at the scene of the shooting in Spanaway, then left for the Parkland incident.

Reporter Brian Everstine will be getting more information.

UPDATE 4:50 p.m.: Pierce County Sheriff spokesman Ed Troyer said the the man was arrested and no one was injured.

The man was barricaded inside of the apartment, and deputies responded from the scene of the shooting in Spanaway.

The suspect was handcuffed and sitting outside of the apartments while deputies questioned witnesses.

A Pierce County sheriff's deputy was shot in the hand this afternoon while responding to a 911 call.

The deputy was in the back of an ambulance, being evaluated, Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said. KIRO is reporting a woman also was shot. (See new information below. The woman was not shot.)

The suspected gunman is in custody.

The deputy responded to a 911 call for unknown trouble about 2 p.m. in the 17100 block of Fifth Avenue Court East.

The deputy was met with a man with a shotgun. The man fired, striking the deputy's hand.

Law enforcement officers responded to the scene. There were initially reports the suspect had barricaded himself.

He's since been taken into custody. Deputies then checked the house.

"Everybody involved in custody and detained," Troyer said.

UPDATE: According to preliminary information, a woman was tied up and being held against her will in the house. She somehow got the attention of a neighbor and gestured for the neighbor to call 911, Troyer said.

The neighbor called 911 for unknown trouble at the address. Deputies arrived and a man left the house, armed with a shotgun.

"It appears he fired from the house as he advance toward our deputies," Troyer said.

The deputies took cover. One deputy was hit and suffered minor injuries. The deputies waited for the man to stop shooting, then forcefully took him into custody, Troyer said. The deputies did not fire their weapons.

The suspect's shotgun remains in the street, Troyer said.

Deputies and paramedics are treating the woman right now. There was some initial reports that she might have been shot. She was not, Troyer said.

"She was either kidnapped or held against her will," he said.

Burglars swept through a South Hill neighborhood during the overnight hours this weekend, stealing electronics, alcohol and cash from six homes as the occupants slept.

The burglars took advantage of doors left unlocked and windows kept open because of the hot temperatures.

The spree is of concern to the Pierce County Sheriff's Department.

"People need to be more vigilant," sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said. "Unfortunately, we live in a society where you've got to lock your house."

No arrests have been made in the weekend burglaries.

Deputies report the burglaries occurred between 11:30 p.m. Friday and 7:30 a.m. Saturday in the Mountain Park neighborhood, south of 160th Street East and west of Meridian Avenue.

Six homes were hit. The burglars snagged cash, alcohol, digital cameras, laptops, DVD players, camcorders and video games.

"It concerns us deeply that they are going into occupied homes," Troyer said.

No one was injured.

Investigators are looking for any information on suspicious people, vehicles or activity in the Mountain Park-area on the night of the burglaries.

Tacoma-Pierce County Crime Stoppers is offering up to $1,000 for information leading to arrests and charges filed in the case. Tipsters may remain anonymous.

Reach Crime Stoppers at 253-591-5959.

Paramedics are taking a 1-year-old baby to Mary Bridge Children's Hospital after the child fell out the second-story window of a South Hill apartment this afternoon.

The accident happened in the 13700 block of 97th Avenue East, Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said.

The baby is expected to survive the injuries.

Deputies are investigating.

"At this point, we don't believe it's anything other than an accident," Troyer said. "It's possibily attributed to warm weather."

A Fort Lewis sergeant accused in Pierce County Superior Court of promoting prostitution involving two teenage girls now faces federal charges.

Sgt. Sterling Terrance Hospedales, 26, has been charged in U.S. District Court with sex trafficking of a child and attempted sex trafficking of a child, according to a press release from the U.S. District Attorney's Office. He will make his first federal court appearance this afternoon.

In April, Pierce County prosecutors charged Hospedales, an infantryman originally from Florida, with two counts of first-degree promoting prostitution. He's been confined to the Pierce County Jail, awaiting trial since.

Pierce County prosecutors dismissed the charges against Hospedales on Friday to make way for the federal charges.

At the time of his arrest, Hospedales was assigned to the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team and had been stationed at Fort Lewis since March 2005.

The Innocence Lost Task Force, a federal task force that focuses on sex trafficking of children, investigated the case against Hospedales. The task force received a tip about a teenage runaway from Seattle who was posting ads on Craigslist, the online classified advertising site, that indicated she was involved in prostitution.

Investigators found the 17-year-old girl and a 16-year-old girl from Wyoming.

"The first juvenile ultimately admitted that she worked as a prostitute out of an apartment Hospedales had obtained for her, that Hospedales had helped her post advertisements for prostitution with pictures of herself on Craig’s List, and that she provided the money she earned from prostituting to Hospedales," the press release from the U.S. District Attorney's Office states. "The second juvenile had flown to the area from Wyoming with her plane ticket paid for by Hospedales. The second girl stated that she had only been in town a week, and had taken pictures to post on Craig’s List for prostitution purposes, but had not started earning money for Hospedales."

If convicted of the federal charges, Hospedales faces a minimum of 10 years to life in prison, $250,000 in fines and five years of supervised release.

The FBI released a preliminary report today on the crime trends from last year in the country. You can find specifics here.

Here's the report from the Associated Press:

WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI says violent crime dropped in 2008 in the United States, falling 2.5 percent compared to the previous year.

Property crimes also fell, by 1.6 percent, according to the preliminary data collected by the FBI. Nationwide, murder and manslaughter dropped 4.4 percent.

There were some increases, though. In small cities with less than 10,000 residents, murder rose 5.5 percent, rape increased 1.4 percent, and robbery 3.9 percent. Across the country, car thefts dropped more than 13 percent.

The western region of the country saw the biggest declines, with a 4.2 percent drop in property crime and a 3.4 percent drop in violent crime. The Northeast saw a slight increase in property crime, which went up by 1.6 percent.

As previously reported in The News Tribune, crime in dropped in the state in 2008 but increased slightly in Tacoma and Pierce County. Here's my story from mid-May.

Crime dropped throughout the state last year, but increased slightly in Tacoma and unincorporated Pierce County, according to preliminary statistics released this week by the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs.

Statewide, violent crime fell 1 percent and property crime dropped 6.2 percent between 2007 and 2008.

The violent crimes that are counted are murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assaults. The property crimes are burglary, larceny, theft, motor vehicle theft and arson.

In Tacoma, overall crime rose 2.1 percent despite a drop in violent crime. The Pierce County Sheriff's Department saw a 0.2 percent increase in overall crime despite handling fewer property crimes.

Statewide, law enforcement agencies reported more homicides and robberies. There were fewer robberies, thefts and arsons.

The most prominent change came in car thefts, which dropped nearly 25 percent, according to the report. Law enforcement agencies handled 27,730 motor vehicle thefts in 2008, down from 36,932 in 2007.

The report included these other statistics:

• $329,005,833: the value of the property stolen in 2008, down 7.1 percent from 2007 when it was $354,106,974.

• $104,666,693: the value of the property recovery in 2008, down 24.7 percent from 2007 when the value was $138,922,219.

• 886: the number of law enforcement officers assaulted last year, down 4.1 percent from the 924 in 2007.

• 235: the number of incidents involving criminal offenses of hate or bias crimes that were reported last year. This was an increase of 26.7 percent over 2007.

• 42,500 domestic-violence crimes were reported in 2008. That was a decrease of 11.7 percent from 2007.

An agency-by-agency breakdown of reported crime statistics is available at www.waspc.org.</blockquote>

Construction crews will be closing lanes and ramps of Highway 512 at Interstate 5 for the next five nights.

The closures will allow crews to inspect and repair the overpass in Lakewood, the state Department of Transportation reports.

The closures will be from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., each night this week. The work begins tonight.

Here's a rundown of the closures:

Overnight Monday: The two right lanes of eastbound SR 512 and the on-ramp to northbound I-5 from SR 512 will be closed.

Overnight Tuesday: The two left lanes of eastbound SR 512 and the two left lanes from the off-ramp from southbound I-5 to eastbound SR 512 will be closed.

Overnight Wednesday: The two left lanes of eastbound SR 512 will be closed.

Overnight Thursday and Friday: The two right lanes of westbound SR 512, the ramp from westbound SR 512 to southbound I-5 and the ramp from northbound I-5 to westbound SR 512 will be blocked off.

Transportation crews will put up detour signs. Drivers should expect delays through the work zone.