$10K Reward offered in murder-kidnapping; sexting arrest; morgue email upsets residents
- Updated
Odd and interesting things from around the West.
- By MICHELLE RINDELS Associated Press
- Updated
LAS VEGAS β A programming error made three years ago on a Department of Motor Vehicles computer system mistakenly diverted about $19 million in car registration fee revenue from the state's general fund to local governments and school districts.
Governor Brian Sandoval's Chief of Staff, Mike Willden, announced Thursday that the error was discovered earlier this spring and has been corrected. He said he doesn't expect the state will have to reduce any services because the money was sent elsewhere, and won't be requesting the money back from school districts and local government entities who were overpaid.
But going forward, schools and local governments may have to adjust their budgets.
"Counties got a three-year windfall and they will be short and will have to recalculate," Willden said.
The error happened in 2013 when the state was setting up its My DMV web portal, which allows Nevadans to renew their registration and do other DMV business online instead of at the office. The mistake sent a portion of the fee β called the Governmental Services Tax β to the wrong accounts.
Nobody overpaid their car registration fees as a result of the glitch, officials said.
"No individual motorist was affected by this error, but we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience it may have caused the local governments and school districts," said DMV Director Terri Albertson.
Nevada had diverted a substantial portion of the Governmental Services Tax to the general fund during the recession, but lawmakers last year directed the state to send more of that revenue back to the highway improvement fund, where it's intended.
Willden said he didn't know exactly who made the mistake but is asking the agency to update its protocols.
"We've asked DMV to put additional safeguards in place so this doesn't occur in the future," he said.
- The Associated Press
- Updated
ISLAND PARK, Idaho β Authorities say a 15-year-old boy hunting black bears with his father mistakenly shot and killed a 500-pound male grizzly bear in eastern Idaho.
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game says the father and son from California later that evening on May 5 returned to their family cabin and realized it was a grizzly bear.
Authorities say that the next morning they contacted Idaho Fish and Game to report what happened.
Fish and Game officials in a news release Thursday say the juvenile has been issued a warning and the father a citation for the taking and possessing a protected species.
A court date is set for June 1.
Officials say the 9-year-old grizzly bear has been confiscated.
- The Associated Press
- Updated
GALT, Calif. β Authorities are looking for the owner of a German shepherd dog that was rescued from the median of a Northern California highway after falling from a truck about five weeks ago.
KTLA reports that she's been named Freeway Frida because she eluded capture among the oleander bushes on a Highway 99 median in Galt since April 10.
Galt police officer Sylvia Coelho says the California Highway patrol assisted the department with her capture Saturday. She weighed 44 pounds when she was found, much less than normal weight for her size and breed. She is also being treated for a broken leg. She is estimated to be about 5 years old.
The brown-eyed girl is now recovering at an animal hospital near Sacramento. Dr. Mike Johnson, medical director at the animal hospital, says it's obvious she is looking for her home.
- The Associated Press
- Updated
PORTLAND, Ore. β Hundreds of students walked out of a suburban Portland high school to protest an offensive banner that briefly appeared in the cafeteria.
The sign that read "build a wall" was put up Wednesday at Forest Grove High School and then quickly removed by officials. It's a reference to Donald Trump's plan for a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border.
The Forest Grove district has the highest percentage of Latino students in the Portland metro area, and officials said the students responsible for the banner were disciplined.
The students who protested left class Thursday morning and marched through Main Street before eventually returning to school. Some students from other Oregon high schools also protested.
- The Associated Press
- Updated
MOUNT VERNON, Wash. β Authorities say a man in jail on child molestation charges tried to arrange for another inmate to kill his alleged victim.
Mount Vernon police said in a news release Wednesday a 50-year-old man from Sedro-Woolley was charged Tuesday with criminally attempting to commit murder.
Police say the Skagit Prosecutor's Office contacted them May 11 about the inmate soliciting others to commit murder. Detectives say they learned the man believed if the alleged child victim was "no longer around" his charges would be dropped.
Investigators say the man offered to sign over three vehicles he said were worth about $10,000 in exchange for his cellmate to kill the child and an adult.
Police say both intended victims are safe and were not harmed in any way.
Police say the man's cellmate was not involved in the crime other than as a cooperative witness and he won't face charges.
- The Associated Press
- Updated
CARLSBAD, N.M. β Passenger elevators in Carlsbad Caverns National Park are working again.
Park officials announced Thursday that passenger elevators that stopped working late last year will go back into operation Friday now that repairs have been made.
The work included installation of new steel reinforcing beams and wall anchors in a hoistway.
Park officials say a structural engineering firm has inspected the steel work and that the park also conducted additional testing to ensure that the elevators are safe for passenger use.
While the elevators were not in use, visitors could enter the caverns by walking down through the Natural Entrance. That involved a 1.25-mile walk described by park officials as a "steep hike."
Carlsbad Caverns is located in southeastern New Mexico and is the state's only national park.
- The Associated Press
- Updated
LAS VEGAS β A judge has thrown out the conviction of a Las Vegas grandmother who claims a gambling addiction made her steal more than $500,000 from the plumbing business where she kept the books for almost 25 years.
Clark County District Court Judge Jessie Walsh on Monday set a June 29 hearing to decide if 53-year-old Jerry Nann Meador qualifies for a rarely used gambler's diversion treatment program.
Meador's lawyers say she's a perfect candidate.
Meador was sentenced in January 2014 to four to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to felony theft charges.
Prosecutors say she may have taken as much as $1 million, and also made credit card, cellphone and satellite television payments.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that diversion has been granted just twice in nearly seven years since state lawmakers authorized treatment instead of prison for nonviolent problem gamblers.
- The Associated Press
- Updated
SAGLE, Idaho β A northern Idaho man has died after a stalled car rolled and pinned him against some trees.
The Bonner County Sheriff's Office says 56-year-old Charles Morales of Sagle died Tuesday.
Authorities say Morales and 55-year-old Robert Peterson were attempting to start a stalled Ford Taurus when it started rolling.
Authorities say both men tried to stop the vehicle but Peterson was flung from the vehicle onto the roadway while Morales was thrown over the embankment where he was caught between the vehicle and some trees.
Police say Morales was pronounced dead at the scene.
- The Associated Press
- Updated
SAN FRANCISCO β A $10,000 reward is being offered for information in the slaying of a San Francisco woman and her missing 2-year-old daughter.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports the killing of 32-year-old Nicole Fitts and the disappearance of little Arianna are continuing to baffle police and FBI agents in San Francisco, nearly six weeks after the mother's body was found in a shallow grave in McLaren Park.
The woman worked at Best Buy and the company put up the money.
On April 8, the body of Fitts was found near a playground at the park about a week after she disappeared. Her daughter had not been since for at least a month prior in the care of two Oakland babysitters.
Police Chief Greg Suhr said the babysitters had "cooperated initially" in the probe but no longer were doing so, the newspaper reported.
- The Associated Press
- Updated
NOME, Alaska β Nome officials say things are under control at the city morgue after police sent an email to community members requesting assistance in identifying bodies.
The message sent Tuesday said there were four caskets being held at the morgue "pending action by the next of kin."
Police Chief John Papasodora told KTUU-TV the confusion was not a first for the city and that it stemmed from an informal process where people can ask for a key to the morgue and drop off caskets containing their loved ones.
"We have had caskets that we've had to do some research on to find out who they are," Papasodora said.
However, Christine Schultz, director of social services with Norton Sound Health Corp., said there is a "functional system" in place at the morgue for labeling caskets. She said she showed the caskets with the proper identification markers to City Clerk Bryant Hammond Wednesday.
"There might have been one that didn't have a tag," Schultz said.
Hammond apologized to residents in an email Wednesday.
"The city of Nome and the volunteers that assist in prepping our loved ones for their final journey know exactly who is in the morgue and are working with each of the families to make burial preparations," Hammond said.
Nome Mayor Richard Beneville said he wasn't aware of the incident until he received a call from someone who was upset over the email from police. He said officials are working to improve the situation and that a committee was recently formed to address the issues as well as sort out unmarked graves at the Nome cemetery.
- Updated
MORENO VALLEY, Calif. β Witnesses say a pair of 16-year-old cousins didn't hesitate when they witnessed a car crash, rushing to pull a woman and her young child to safety after the vehicle rolled onto its side near a Riverside County mall.
The Press-Enterprise says Elijah and Jovantay Henderson were waiting for their grandmother to pick them up Tuesday when they saw the car spin out on nearby State Route 60. It landed on its side.
A witness says the boys sprinted across the parking lot, climbed an embankment and slipped through a fence to get to the car. They pulled the daughter out first, then the mother, and waited with them for an ambulance to arrive. There was no word on injuries.
The CHP is investigating.
The teens' grandmother says she's extremely proud of their actions.
- The Associated Press
- Updated
KETCHIKAN, Alaska β Alaska wildlife officials are investigating after multiple reported sightings of wolves in the North Tongass area from residents who say the animals appear to be unafraid of humans.
Micah Sanguinetti, wildlife conservation technician with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, said the department received half a dozen calls related to the wolves on Tuesday. The agency believes there are two wolves that have been roaming around Ketchikan's north end, he said.
"It seems like it's the same two," Sanguinetti told The Ketchikan Daily News (http://bit.ly/1TgsN1y). "We don't believe it's a pack."
One of the calls was from Amy Nieshe, who said a wolf appeared in her yard early Tuesday and stayed for about two hours.
"It is not afraid of humans," she told the Ketchikan Daily News. "It has no issue with people or dogs."
Nieshe said she was alerted to the wolf by her dogs that were locked up outside in a pen and started barking. She said the wolf "was just walking back and forth in front of the pen."
A wolf that was seen on Sunday had attacked a dog that was being walked by a 13-year-old boy, who had let the dog off the leash. The dog survived the incident.
Keith Nelson, the boy's father, said he pulled up in his vehicle less than a minute after the fight started and said the wolf did not run off.
"He wasn't scared of people," Nelson said. "He wasn't going anywhere until I gave him a warning."
A Fish and Game wildlife biologist for the Ketchikan area was sent to investigate.
___
Information from: Ketchikan (Alaska) Daily News, http://www.ketchikandailynews.com
- The Associated Press
- Updated
SANTA ROSA, Calif. β A Colorado man has been sentenced to life in prison for the slayings of three men during a botched marijuana deal in Sonoma County.
The Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports that 49-year-old Mark Cappello of Central City, Colo., was sentenced Wednesday in Sonoma County court to 100 years to life in prison for killing 24-year-old Raleigh Butler, 46-year-old Richard Lewin of Huntington, N.Y., and 43-year-old Todd Klarkowski of Boulder, Colo. Jurors found Cappello guilty in March.
Authorities say the three men had arranged to buy a large amount of marijuana from Cappello when he killed them execution style in 2013.
- The Associated Press
- Updated
EUGENE, Ore. β A Springfield high school senior has been arrested on allegations that he sent sexually explicit photos of himself to a 14-year-old student.
The Register-Guard reports that the 18-year-old was arrested at Thurston High School on Wednesday. He faces charges of luring a minor and coercion and was booked into the Lane County Jail.
The victim had reported to the school's resource officer that she received several photos from the suspect and that he allegedly tried to persuade her into sending him nude photos.
- The Associated Press
- Updated
TAQCOMA, Wash. β A Tacoma woman is being jailed on $500,000 bail for allegations that she shot her ex-husband after confronting him and his girlfriend.
The News Tribune reports that 42-year-old Amy Yasuko Taylor appeared in court Monday on a first-degree assault charge in connection with last week's shooting.
Court documents say Taylor went to a Parkland home where her ex-husband and his girlfriend had been. They came outside and shots were fired.
The documents say the suspect left the scene in a waiting vehicle.
A neighbor tended to the victim, who had been shot in back of the head, until paramedics arrived. An update on his condition is unknown.
Taylor allegedly told sheriff's deputies she had been present during a shooting in Parkland but didn't know anything about the incident.
- The Associated Press
- Updated
PORTLAND, Ore. β Portland police say they have arrested a man who threatened a 13-year-old boy with a gun and stole his hoverboard.
KOIN-TV reports that Kwaleam Pinkly was arrested after the incident Tuesday.
Court documents say the boy had been walking with two friends when a vehicle pulled up alongside them and a backseat passenger pointed a gun at the boy, who dropped the hoverboard and ran off.
Police say they later found the 20-year-old suspect with the gun and hoverboard inside the vehicle.
Court documents say Pinkly admitted to the incident and wrote a letter apologizing to the boy for threatening his life over a hoverboard.
- The Associated Press
- Updated
PORTLAND, Ore. β Embattled Multnomah County Sheriff Dan Staton is giving up his nearly $34,000 car after the vehicle was found to have been bought outside normal county procedure.
Staton told The Oregonian/OregonLive Wednesday the Dodge Charger will go to a "first responder," in what he called an "appropriate use of taxpayer dollars."
The county fleet department had said last June it couldn't afford to replace Staton's car with a more expensive model. The sheriff's office then used discretionary funds from its own $135 million budget.
Staton recently said he wasn't aware the purchase had deviated from department protocol.
The Oregon Department of Justice recently completed an investigation of the sheriff prompted by allegations that he created a hostile work environment. Staton was cleared of criminal wrongdoing.
- The Associated Press
- Updated
SALT LAKE CITY β A new report shows that dog attacks on mail carriers in Utah increased by more than half in 2015 from the previous year.
KSL-TV reported that the United States Postal Service figures say 34 mail carriers in the state were attacked by dogs last year, a 55 percent increase from 2014. Seven of the 34 mail workers sustained significant injuries that caused them to miss work.
According to the USPS report, there were more than 6,500 dog attacks nationwide in 2015. Salt Lake City had 16 dog attacks on mail carriers and tied for the 29th city in the U.S. with the most incidents.
USPS District Manager Darrell Stoke urged customers to place dogs in rooms with closed doors when a package is being delivered.
- By MICHELLE RINDELS Associated Press
LAS VEGAS β A programming error made three years ago on a Department of Motor Vehicles computer system mistakenly diverted about $19 million in car registration fee revenue from the state's general fund to local governments and school districts.
Governor Brian Sandoval's Chief of Staff, Mike Willden, announced Thursday that the error was discovered earlier this spring and has been corrected. He said he doesn't expect the state will have to reduce any services because the money was sent elsewhere, and won't be requesting the money back from school districts and local government entities who were overpaid.
But going forward, schools and local governments may have to adjust their budgets.
"Counties got a three-year windfall and they will be short and will have to recalculate," Willden said.
The error happened in 2013 when the state was setting up its My DMV web portal, which allows Nevadans to renew their registration and do other DMV business online instead of at the office. The mistake sent a portion of the fee β called the Governmental Services Tax β to the wrong accounts.
Nobody overpaid their car registration fees as a result of the glitch, officials said.
"No individual motorist was affected by this error, but we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience it may have caused the local governments and school districts," said DMV Director Terri Albertson.
Nevada had diverted a substantial portion of the Governmental Services Tax to the general fund during the recession, but lawmakers last year directed the state to send more of that revenue back to the highway improvement fund, where it's intended.
Willden said he didn't know exactly who made the mistake but is asking the agency to update its protocols.
"We've asked DMV to put additional safeguards in place so this doesn't occur in the future," he said.
- The Associated Press
ISLAND PARK, Idaho β Authorities say a 15-year-old boy hunting black bears with his father mistakenly shot and killed a 500-pound male grizzly bear in eastern Idaho.
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game says the father and son from California later that evening on May 5 returned to their family cabin and realized it was a grizzly bear.
Authorities say that the next morning they contacted Idaho Fish and Game to report what happened.
Fish and Game officials in a news release Thursday say the juvenile has been issued a warning and the father a citation for the taking and possessing a protected species.
A court date is set for June 1.
Officials say the 9-year-old grizzly bear has been confiscated.
- The Associated Press
GALT, Calif. β Authorities are looking for the owner of a German shepherd dog that was rescued from the median of a Northern California highway after falling from a truck about five weeks ago.
KTLA reports that she's been named Freeway Frida because she eluded capture among the oleander bushes on a Highway 99 median in Galt since April 10.
Galt police officer Sylvia Coelho says the California Highway patrol assisted the department with her capture Saturday. She weighed 44 pounds when she was found, much less than normal weight for her size and breed. She is also being treated for a broken leg. She is estimated to be about 5 years old.
The brown-eyed girl is now recovering at an animal hospital near Sacramento. Dr. Mike Johnson, medical director at the animal hospital, says it's obvious she is looking for her home.
- The Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. β Hundreds of students walked out of a suburban Portland high school to protest an offensive banner that briefly appeared in the cafeteria.
The sign that read "build a wall" was put up Wednesday at Forest Grove High School and then quickly removed by officials. It's a reference to Donald Trump's plan for a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border.
The Forest Grove district has the highest percentage of Latino students in the Portland metro area, and officials said the students responsible for the banner were disciplined.
The students who protested left class Thursday morning and marched through Main Street before eventually returning to school. Some students from other Oregon high schools also protested.
- The Associated Press
MOUNT VERNON, Wash. β Authorities say a man in jail on child molestation charges tried to arrange for another inmate to kill his alleged victim.
Mount Vernon police said in a news release Wednesday a 50-year-old man from Sedro-Woolley was charged Tuesday with criminally attempting to commit murder.
Police say the Skagit Prosecutor's Office contacted them May 11 about the inmate soliciting others to commit murder. Detectives say they learned the man believed if the alleged child victim was "no longer around" his charges would be dropped.
Investigators say the man offered to sign over three vehicles he said were worth about $10,000 in exchange for his cellmate to kill the child and an adult.
Police say both intended victims are safe and were not harmed in any way.
Police say the man's cellmate was not involved in the crime other than as a cooperative witness and he won't face charges.
- The Associated Press
CARLSBAD, N.M. β Passenger elevators in Carlsbad Caverns National Park are working again.
Park officials announced Thursday that passenger elevators that stopped working late last year will go back into operation Friday now that repairs have been made.
The work included installation of new steel reinforcing beams and wall anchors in a hoistway.
Park officials say a structural engineering firm has inspected the steel work and that the park also conducted additional testing to ensure that the elevators are safe for passenger use.
While the elevators were not in use, visitors could enter the caverns by walking down through the Natural Entrance. That involved a 1.25-mile walk described by park officials as a "steep hike."
Carlsbad Caverns is located in southeastern New Mexico and is the state's only national park.
- The Associated Press
LAS VEGAS β A judge has thrown out the conviction of a Las Vegas grandmother who claims a gambling addiction made her steal more than $500,000 from the plumbing business where she kept the books for almost 25 years.
Clark County District Court Judge Jessie Walsh on Monday set a June 29 hearing to decide if 53-year-old Jerry Nann Meador qualifies for a rarely used gambler's diversion treatment program.
Meador's lawyers say she's a perfect candidate.
Meador was sentenced in January 2014 to four to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to felony theft charges.
Prosecutors say she may have taken as much as $1 million, and also made credit card, cellphone and satellite television payments.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that diversion has been granted just twice in nearly seven years since state lawmakers authorized treatment instead of prison for nonviolent problem gamblers.
- The Associated Press
SAGLE, Idaho β A northern Idaho man has died after a stalled car rolled and pinned him against some trees.
The Bonner County Sheriff's Office says 56-year-old Charles Morales of Sagle died Tuesday.
Authorities say Morales and 55-year-old Robert Peterson were attempting to start a stalled Ford Taurus when it started rolling.
Authorities say both men tried to stop the vehicle but Peterson was flung from the vehicle onto the roadway while Morales was thrown over the embankment where he was caught between the vehicle and some trees.
Police say Morales was pronounced dead at the scene.
- The Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO β A $10,000 reward is being offered for information in the slaying of a San Francisco woman and her missing 2-year-old daughter.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports the killing of 32-year-old Nicole Fitts and the disappearance of little Arianna are continuing to baffle police and FBI agents in San Francisco, nearly six weeks after the mother's body was found in a shallow grave in McLaren Park.
The woman worked at Best Buy and the company put up the money.
On April 8, the body of Fitts was found near a playground at the park about a week after she disappeared. Her daughter had not been since for at least a month prior in the care of two Oakland babysitters.
Police Chief Greg Suhr said the babysitters had "cooperated initially" in the probe but no longer were doing so, the newspaper reported.
- The Associated Press
NOME, Alaska β Nome officials say things are under control at the city morgue after police sent an email to community members requesting assistance in identifying bodies.
The message sent Tuesday said there were four caskets being held at the morgue "pending action by the next of kin."
Police Chief John Papasodora told KTUU-TV the confusion was not a first for the city and that it stemmed from an informal process where people can ask for a key to the morgue and drop off caskets containing their loved ones.
"We have had caskets that we've had to do some research on to find out who they are," Papasodora said.
However, Christine Schultz, director of social services with Norton Sound Health Corp., said there is a "functional system" in place at the morgue for labeling caskets. She said she showed the caskets with the proper identification markers to City Clerk Bryant Hammond Wednesday.
"There might have been one that didn't have a tag," Schultz said.
Hammond apologized to residents in an email Wednesday.
"The city of Nome and the volunteers that assist in prepping our loved ones for their final journey know exactly who is in the morgue and are working with each of the families to make burial preparations," Hammond said.
Nome Mayor Richard Beneville said he wasn't aware of the incident until he received a call from someone who was upset over the email from police. He said officials are working to improve the situation and that a committee was recently formed to address the issues as well as sort out unmarked graves at the Nome cemetery.
MORENO VALLEY, Calif. β Witnesses say a pair of 16-year-old cousins didn't hesitate when they witnessed a car crash, rushing to pull a woman and her young child to safety after the vehicle rolled onto its side near a Riverside County mall.
The Press-Enterprise says Elijah and Jovantay Henderson were waiting for their grandmother to pick them up Tuesday when they saw the car spin out on nearby State Route 60. It landed on its side.
A witness says the boys sprinted across the parking lot, climbed an embankment and slipped through a fence to get to the car. They pulled the daughter out first, then the mother, and waited with them for an ambulance to arrive. There was no word on injuries.
The CHP is investigating.
The teens' grandmother says she's extremely proud of their actions.
- The Associated Press
KETCHIKAN, Alaska β Alaska wildlife officials are investigating after multiple reported sightings of wolves in the North Tongass area from residents who say the animals appear to be unafraid of humans.
Micah Sanguinetti, wildlife conservation technician with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, said the department received half a dozen calls related to the wolves on Tuesday. The agency believes there are two wolves that have been roaming around Ketchikan's north end, he said.
"It seems like it's the same two," Sanguinetti told The Ketchikan Daily News (http://bit.ly/1TgsN1y). "We don't believe it's a pack."
One of the calls was from Amy Nieshe, who said a wolf appeared in her yard early Tuesday and stayed for about two hours.
"It is not afraid of humans," she told the Ketchikan Daily News. "It has no issue with people or dogs."
Nieshe said she was alerted to the wolf by her dogs that were locked up outside in a pen and started barking. She said the wolf "was just walking back and forth in front of the pen."
A wolf that was seen on Sunday had attacked a dog that was being walked by a 13-year-old boy, who had let the dog off the leash. The dog survived the incident.
Keith Nelson, the boy's father, said he pulled up in his vehicle less than a minute after the fight started and said the wolf did not run off.
"He wasn't scared of people," Nelson said. "He wasn't going anywhere until I gave him a warning."
A Fish and Game wildlife biologist for the Ketchikan area was sent to investigate.
___
Information from: Ketchikan (Alaska) Daily News, http://www.ketchikandailynews.com
- The Associated Press
SANTA ROSA, Calif. β A Colorado man has been sentenced to life in prison for the slayings of three men during a botched marijuana deal in Sonoma County.
The Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports that 49-year-old Mark Cappello of Central City, Colo., was sentenced Wednesday in Sonoma County court to 100 years to life in prison for killing 24-year-old Raleigh Butler, 46-year-old Richard Lewin of Huntington, N.Y., and 43-year-old Todd Klarkowski of Boulder, Colo. Jurors found Cappello guilty in March.
Authorities say the three men had arranged to buy a large amount of marijuana from Cappello when he killed them execution style in 2013.
- The Associated Press
EUGENE, Ore. β A Springfield high school senior has been arrested on allegations that he sent sexually explicit photos of himself to a 14-year-old student.
The Register-Guard reports that the 18-year-old was arrested at Thurston High School on Wednesday. He faces charges of luring a minor and coercion and was booked into the Lane County Jail.
The victim had reported to the school's resource officer that she received several photos from the suspect and that he allegedly tried to persuade her into sending him nude photos.
- The Associated Press
TAQCOMA, Wash. β A Tacoma woman is being jailed on $500,000 bail for allegations that she shot her ex-husband after confronting him and his girlfriend.
The News Tribune reports that 42-year-old Amy Yasuko Taylor appeared in court Monday on a first-degree assault charge in connection with last week's shooting.
Court documents say Taylor went to a Parkland home where her ex-husband and his girlfriend had been. They came outside and shots were fired.
The documents say the suspect left the scene in a waiting vehicle.
A neighbor tended to the victim, who had been shot in back of the head, until paramedics arrived. An update on his condition is unknown.
Taylor allegedly told sheriff's deputies she had been present during a shooting in Parkland but didn't know anything about the incident.
- The Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. β Portland police say they have arrested a man who threatened a 13-year-old boy with a gun and stole his hoverboard.
KOIN-TV reports that Kwaleam Pinkly was arrested after the incident Tuesday.
Court documents say the boy had been walking with two friends when a vehicle pulled up alongside them and a backseat passenger pointed a gun at the boy, who dropped the hoverboard and ran off.
Police say they later found the 20-year-old suspect with the gun and hoverboard inside the vehicle.
Court documents say Pinkly admitted to the incident and wrote a letter apologizing to the boy for threatening his life over a hoverboard.
- The Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. β Embattled Multnomah County Sheriff Dan Staton is giving up his nearly $34,000 car after the vehicle was found to have been bought outside normal county procedure.
Staton told The Oregonian/OregonLive Wednesday the Dodge Charger will go to a "first responder," in what he called an "appropriate use of taxpayer dollars."
The county fleet department had said last June it couldn't afford to replace Staton's car with a more expensive model. The sheriff's office then used discretionary funds from its own $135 million budget.
Staton recently said he wasn't aware the purchase had deviated from department protocol.
The Oregon Department of Justice recently completed an investigation of the sheriff prompted by allegations that he created a hostile work environment. Staton was cleared of criminal wrongdoing.
- The Associated Press
SALT LAKE CITY β A new report shows that dog attacks on mail carriers in Utah increased by more than half in 2015 from the previous year.
KSL-TV reported that the United States Postal Service figures say 34 mail carriers in the state were attacked by dogs last year, a 55 percent increase from 2014. Seven of the 34 mail workers sustained significant injuries that caused them to miss work.
According to the USPS report, there were more than 6,500 dog attacks nationwide in 2015. Salt Lake City had 16 dog attacks on mail carriers and tied for the 29th city in the U.S. with the most incidents.
USPS District Manager Darrell Stoke urged customers to place dogs in rooms with closed doors when a package is being delivered.
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