Court Report

Sheriff's Report

INCIDENT LOG

Editor’s note: Most items in this section reflect the starting point for response by local police and emergency agencies. The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office does not release names of individuals who report possible criminal or suspicious activities to dispatchers or alleged victims for this column.

Monday, Feb. 1: Three county jail inmates, including one housed under contract with the state Department of Corrections and another from Adams County, got into a fight shortly after corrections officers discovered the state prisoner was under the influence at the time he was booked. They were separated and placed in separate cells until the inmate who allegedly started the melee was released.

Responding to a residence on Duck Lake Road near Harrington, ambulance personnel assisted a man who may have suffered a heart attack and was “barely breathing.”

A Reardan man advised local police that he had become a victim of fraud.

Tuesday, Feb. 2: A Lincoln Hospital request for assistance with a patient who was threatening suicide was referred to mental health personnel.

A Harrington woman expressed concern that a man of her acquaintance had sent her a photo of himself appearing to be hanging in a shower and turning blue. Investigating deputies contacted the man, found no marks on his neck and determined he “was only doing it for attention.” He later spoke with mental health personnel.

Wednesday, Feb. 3: A soda pop machine at the I-90 Sprague rest area was broken into for a second time.

A caller told dispatchers that her son pulled the emergency brake while traveling 60 miles per hour on the way to rehab, got out of the vehicle between Hartline and Almira and started walking. A deputy found him in Almira and placed him in custody for malicious mischief after learning he allegedly had been using drugs and broke out windows at the family home.

A Davenport woman reported the theft of about 100 units of prescription medication from her vehicle.

Deputies responded to Almira to contact a possible suspect in an incident of someone firing gunshots in Hartline.

A Davenport woman reported receiving a statement and debit card in the mail from a bank she has never been associated with as a customer.

Wilbur Police investigated a local woman’s report of being told on the phone that she had won money and a car and asked when they should be delivered to her.

Thursday, Feb. 4: Firefighters from Almira, Wilbur and Hartline responded to the scene of a structure fire on the corner of Fifth and Maple in Almira. The unoccupied residence was declared a total loss.

A caller reported logging trucks traveling Miles Creston Road towards U.S. 2 and SR 25 in violation of current county road weight restrictions.

Deputies investigated a reported burglary at the Deer Meadows golf clubhouse. Windows were broken and the interior had been spray-painted.

After a caller requested a welfare check, a Sprague man was transported by ambulance from a residence in the 200 block of South C Street to a Spokane hospital.

Deputies attempted to locate a man who was reported missing from a Sprague motel after having been a tenant for the past couple of months.

Friday, Feb. 5: Residents of Davenport and Harrington reported receiving scam phone calls from someone claiming to be with the IRS who threatened lawsuits and accused them of owing money. Another caller described a scam call from someone claiming to be with Publishers Clearing House.

Two vehicles collided on Interstate 90 near Sprague.

Deputies discovered an abandoned vehicle on its side being held up by a fence post on a hill adjacent to Teel Hill Road north of Davenport after having apparently been involved in a collision.

A collision involving a vehicle and a deer occurred on U.S. 2 near the county Transfer Station west of Davenport.

An Odessa area caller reported spotlighting of a residence from a vehicle traveling Irby Road. A responding deputy informed the caller that a large coyote hunt was scheduled over the weekend. A similar report came the following day from Sprague.

Saturday, Feb. 6: Reardan emergency and Wellpinit ambulance personnel responded to a Ford residence where someone may have suffered a broken hip as a result of a snowmobile collision. The patient was transported to a hospital in north Spokane. Later, a caller advised dispatchers that one of the first responder units may have damaged a gate while accessing the scene.

Davenport ambulance personnel responded to the Reardan High School gym for a possible head and neck injury that may have been associated with the district basketball tournament in progress there.

Deputies responded to a possible suicide incident in the Almira area.

An Almira caller reported items missing from a metal storage shed in the 200 block of North 6th Street.

Lincoln Hospital personnel treated a 66-year-old woman who was involved in a two-vehicle collision near Rux and Wagner Lake roads in Wilbur. At least one of the vehicles was demolished.

About $400 worth of tools were reported taken from property on North Porcupine Bay Road, where access apparently was gained through a dog door.

Two deputies responded to a report of a looming domestic dispute in the 100 block of East 4th Street in Sprague. As it turned out, what a caller thought was about to happen didn’t.

A man was placed into custody for driving under the influence after deputies responded to a reported road rage incident on U.S. 2 and Tramm Road east of Reardan.

Odessa Police responded to a local man’s claim he had been threatened.

Sunday, Feb. 7: A Sprague caller reported someone had removed all of the appliances from a residence in the 600 block of West 1st Street.

After a caller expressed concern that a Harrington man was missing, deputies managed to locate him.

A Creston caller reported finding ATV tire tracks throughout private property adjacent to Bobcat Trail East.

An Odessa woman was taken into custody after deputies responded to a report that a man had been punched in the eye during an argument at a residence on Laney Brothers Road. He was treated at the local hospital for a broken blood vessel.

Deputies responded to a report of a verbal dispute involving more than eight individuals on the streets near the Davenport laundry and bakery buildings.

Two vehicles got stuck in mud at the top of Magnison Butte near the repeater tower southwest of Reardan.

National Park Service personnel checked out a report of several vehicles driving around the Grand Coulee Yacht Club.

JAIL BOOKINGS

Feb. 2: David P. King, 36, Spokane, arrested by Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) for failing to appear for fourth-degree assault.

Feb. 3: Jacob S. Ruffin, 35, Spokane, confined nine days by the court for driving under the influence.

Koy L. Griesse, 23, Almira, arrested by LCSO for third-degree malicious mischief (domestic violence).

Feb. 6: Miles E. Deife, 26, Marlin, arrested by LCSO for driving under the influence.

Feb. 7: Monica L. Lara, 27, Odessa, arrested by LCSO for fourth-degree assault (domestic violence).

Joshua L. Loftus, 33, Longview, Wash., arrested by LCSO for first-degree driving while license suspended and having no required ignition interlock in use.

From Feb. 25 to 8, 29 inmates from outside Lincoln County were held in the county jail under contract with the Washington State Department of Corrections.

Court Report

SUPERIOR COURT

John F. Strohmaier, Judge

Criminal Sentencings

Guy Nelson, 49, of Creston, offered an Alford plea (acknowledging “substantial likelihood of conviction”) on Feb. 2 to charges of possessing methamphetamine and a stolen firearm (amended through plea negotiations from first-degree trafficking in stolen property and four counts of possessing a stolen firearm). His sentence includes 45 days in jail, with electronic monitoring permitted through the District Court, along with $860 court costs and $450 attorney reimbursement. One of the charges involves a Feb. 17, 2015, traffic stop on Sterling Valley Road and his subsequent arrest for possessing a loaded firearm in a motor vehicle. During the booking process at the county jail, corrections officers discovered what appeared to be a controlled substance on his person. The other was filed in connection with the taking of property between June 9 and 23 of last year from a residence in the 100 block of NW Anderson in Creston.

Timothy Lee Jacobs, 27, of Spokane, offered an Alford plea (acknowledging “substantial likelihood of conviction”) on Feb. 2 to a charge of second-degree theft (amended through plea negotiations from residential burglary) in connection with incidents from April 4 to 7 of last year, during which firearms, a chainsaw, CDs and DVDs, decorative plates and jewelry valued at about $15,300 were taken. He must serve 29 months in prison, pay $19,818.42 restitution to the Reardan area woman whose Fisher Road residence was involved, $7,384.04 restitution to American Family Insurance, $1,002 court costs and $450 attorney reimbursement.

Civil Judgments

In an unlawful detainer matter, Rodney J. and Lorilee A. Tinnel, of Molalla, Ore., won a default judgment on Feb. 2 and possession residential property at 406 SE Trinity in Wilbur from respondent Christopher Romero, who was ordered to pay $4,320 covering unpaid rent, $1,500 attorney fees and $85 court costs.

Steven Roy Bakken, of Davenport, must return $190.14 in overpaid disability benefits to the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries.

New Criminal Cases

Earl James Ray, 51, Gold Bar, Wash., currently living at Lakeview Terrace Mobile Home Park in Grand Coulee, is charged with five counts of second-degree theft in connection with the Jan. 24 “purse snatching incident” inside the Davenport Safeway store. He is accused of taking several bank access cards, along with more than $100 cash, a checkbook and 31 checks, identification and two wallets from the Davenport woman’s purse, which had been shoved into a grocery shelf. A warrant was obtained to search a room at a local motel and deputies received consent to look inside a pickup truck. According to a probable cause document filed with the court, the suspect reportedly told deputies he began to feel guilty as he realized the victim’s age, decided to return the wallets and was planning to take them to the post office the following morning.

Kisha Michelle Munson, 25, currently held in the Kootenai County (Idaho) Jail, is charged with first-degree burglary, second-degree theft and three counts of theft of a firearm in connection with a Jan. 7 incident at a residence on Larrabee Street in Edwall.

Gabriel Luke Williams, 29, of Edwall, was charged with first-degree burglary, second-degree theft, three counts of theft of a firearm and three counts of possessing a stolen firearm in connection with the Jan. 7 incident at a residence on Larrabee Street in Edwall. Deputies found broken glass at an entry point and a gun safe pried open. The following day, the suspect was apprehended in Airway Heights with the assistance of local police.

Seth Galen Roberts, 47, of Anchorage, Alaska, is charged with attempting to elude a pursuing patrol vehicle in connection with a Jan. 15 incident that began in Wilbur and continued east on U.S. 2 through Creston to Miles Creston Road, Welch Creek and Redwine Canyon roads, and the Lincoln boat launch. A traffic stop eventually was made near Miles Creston and Welch Creek roads, where deputies successfully used spike strips to assist Wilbur officer Paul Bowden in the suspect’s apprehension which followed the discovery of a handgun inside his vehicle.

New Civil Cases

Alleging breach of contract by Ark Commercial Roofing, Inc., The Bryer Company seeks $31,081.35 for metal panels it claims haven’t been paid for. The building materials were used in the “construction, alteration and/or repair” of the Lincoln County Mechanics Shop and Maintenance Facility in Davenport. Also named as respondents are bondholders Western Surety Co. and Liberty Mutual Insurance Co.

Probate

Estate of Michael J. Haworth, of Davenport, who died Jan. 23, 2015.

Estate of Clayton E. Linse, of St. John, Wash., who died Nov. 23, 2015.

Estate of Evelyn C. Jones, of Woodinville, Wash., who died Jan. 5, 2016.

Estate of Wayne Walthew, of Prescott, Wash., who died Jan. 11, 2016.

DISTRICT COURT

Editor’s note: These reports are based on forms filled out by the presiding judge during court sessions and subsequently reviewed by the newspaper.

Dan B. Johnson, Judge

Mark Anthony McElfish, Spokane, driving while license suspended, dismissed.

Philip Van de Veer, Visiting Judge

Jordan Tyler Cross, Spokane Valley, fourth-degree assault (domestic violence), 29 days jail, $593 court assessments, 24 months supervised and 36 months unsupervised probation, domestic violence/anger management evaluation and recommended treatment.

MARRIAGE DISSOLUTIONS

Lincoln County Clerk’s Office

New filings: 38 involving persons living outside Lincoln County.

Petitions for legal separation: 3 involving persons living outside Lincoln County.

Property Transactions

Lincoln County Treasurer’s Office

William O. Bagley and Lydia M. Widmer (co-personal representative, estate of O. J. Bagley), Wilbur, to Michael Chipman and Nelanie Chipman, Wilbur – portion of Sec. 20, T26N, R32E, $0.

Albert Frederick Potwin (successor trustee, Residuary Trust of Lelia Thelma Rantz), Littleton, Colo., to Virginia Beth Rangaard (formerly Potwin), Littleton, Colo. – portion of Sec. 17, T27N, R31E, $0.

Randolph E. Dover (successor trustee, Lauren L. Dover and Georgia R. Dover Trust) Bend, Ore., to Randolph E. Dover (successor trustee, Lauren L. Dover Survivors’ Trust, 50 percent) and Randolph E. Dover (successor trustee, Georgia R. Dover Decedent’s Trust, 50 percent), Bend, Ore. – portion of Secs. 6, 8, and 20, T22N, R37E, subject to easements, $0.

Kenneth L. Brown III, Spokane, to Thomas R. Gair, Davenport – Lot 10, Blk. 20, Timmon’s Second Addition to City of Davenport, $30,000.

Larry D. Zagelow and June I. Zagelow, Odessa, to Jeffery S. Zagelow and Amber M. Zagelow, Odessa – portion of Sec. 1, T23N, R32E, and 1996 28x48 Skyline mobile home, subject to easements, $92,261.36.

Larry D. Zagelow and June I. Zagelow, Odessa, to Jeffery S. Zagelow and Amber M. Zagelow, Odessa – 1996 Skyline 28x48 mobile home, $0.

Rodney Coleman, Odessa, to Cody J. Zeitler and Leslie L. Zeitler, Davenport – Lots 1 and 2 and west half of Lot 3, Blk. 32, Timmon’s Second Addition to the Town of Davenport, $156,000.

Kevin O. Heid and Sarah Jane Johnson, Davenport, to Chad B. Tudeen and Katherine Tudeen, Davenport – Lots 7 and 8, Blk. 26, Timmon’s Second Addition to the Town of Davenport, $148,000.

Michael Donell Tucker and Annie Jo Tucker (trustees, Michael and Annie Tucker Family Trust), Las Vegas, Nev., to Shane Smoger and Darray Becker-Smoger, Creston – Lot 17-A, Replat of Division A-1 Roosevelt Lake Ranch, $238,000.

Brooke Overstreet and Allen Roberts, Sprague, to John and Patricia Taylor, Tacoma, Wash. – Lot 6, Blk. 17, Original Town (now City) of Sprague and 1993 25x48 manufactured home, $62,000.

Michael J. Haworth, Davenport, to Barbara and Gary Greene, Davenport – 2006 27x60 mobile home, $0.

John Cook and Amelia Cook (trustees, John and Amelia Cook Revocable Living Trust), Sun Lakes, Ariz., to Sax 40 LLC, Richland, Wash. – portion of Sec. 24, T27N, R35E, subject to easements, $140,000.