Bulletin column - Sept. 2, 2010

These reports are from the previous four issues of the Daily Bulletin in Colfax. They are reprinted here for the benefit of Gazette readers who reside outside of Colfax. Some accounts have been updated.

Pit bull goes to Humane Society

A male pit bull, estimated to be a year old, has been turned over by Colfax city police for transport to the Whitman County Humane Society. The dog was taken to the society by a volunteer.

The dog was advertised for adoption by the city while he was in custody of the pound here. He will be inspected by a veterinarian and sent to WSU to be neutered before he is available for adoption, probably by next Tuesday. The dog has been named Aden by the society staff.

Chief Bill Hickman said the dog was apprehended running loose in the A Street neighborhood about six weeks ago. At that time the dog was recovered by a Colfax resident who said the dog actually belonged to his sister who was visiting Colfax and would take the dog with her when she departed. The city at that time allowed release of the dog with the understanding it would leave town.

Approximately three weeks later, the pit bull was observed running loose again, taken into custody and returned to the pound. The city charges a $25 fee to get a dog out of the pound and requires the owner to get the dog licensed. The city unsuccessfully advertised the dog for adoption after hearing nothing from the people who claimed the dog after the first arrest.

Pit Bulls are not a popular breed for adoption, but the dog will be allowed to reside at the society unless he becomes diseased or a threat to other dogs through his behavior. Adoption fee for a dog from the society is $80.85.

Lexus-deer accident

Carla A. Jones, 58, Moscow, was unhurt Monday night when she collided with a deer on Highway 26 near Dusty. According to the Washington State Patrol report, she was driving a 2006 Lexus westbound at 8:27 p.m. when a deer ran into the roadway and struck the left front corner of the car at mile marker 115.

Four hurt in chain wreck

Four people were transported to Whitman Hospital Sunday afternoon after a chain accident involving three cars on Highway 195 south of the Cedar Street intersection. Colfax Officer Mike Jordan said the cars involved in the accident were the last three in a lineup of five cars stopped on the highway at the intersection. The lead car in the lineup stopped to allow a bicycle rider to turn left from the southbound Highway 195 turn lane at Cedar Street.

Officers received a report of the wreck at 3:22 p.m. According to the report, Aubrie Powell, Spokane, failed to stop the 2001 Honda Accord she was diving and stuck the back of a 2007 Toyota Prius driven by Taylor Hoki of Tacoma. The Prius was pushed into the back of a Saturn driven by Andra Sullivan of St. John. All three drivers and a passenger in the Prius were taken to the hospital by two ambulances from Colfax.

The first and second vehicles in the lineup drove away from the scene. Jordan noted the first driver was not obligated to stop on the highway for the bicycle rider who was making a left turn.

Hurt driver found in St. John

Michael LeRoy Rowe, 26, Ellensburg, was taken by ambulance to Whitman Hospital for treatment sustained in a rollover accident on the Lancaster Road west of St. John early Sunday morning. Rowe was arrested at an RV park in St. John after deputies and St. John and Rosalia EMTs searched the scene of the accident which was about four miles west of St. John.

According to a report from the sheriff’s office, deputies were advised that a truck that had apparently been in a rollover accident was on the road. Another motorist reported a man was seen walking away from the wrecked truck with some type of head injury.

Deputies and the EMTs searched the scene with night vision and heat detection equipment but were unable to locate the driver. Rowe was eventually located when a cell phone found at the scene was used to contact friends and deputies learned he was back in St. John.

Missing Tekoan found

Vicki M. Keller, 60, Tekoa resident who was reported missing late Saturday morning was located in Idaho Sunday with the assistance of the Latah County Sheriff’s office. Keller left Tekoa at 10:30 a.m. in a 1995 Ford-250 pickup truck. She left her wallet and cell phone at the residence.

Chase suspect arrested

A Toledo, Wash., driver who was the suspect in a speed chase up to 100 miles an hour was booked into the county jail after the car he was driving crashed into the fence at the Palouse Empire Fairground and he was found in a wheat field near the accident scene. The suspect, Alex P. Mackenzie, 23, was jailed on probable charges of attempting to elude, driving with a suspended license and failing to have an ignition interlock device installed.

Bail for Mackenzie was set at $25,000 in a first appearance in court Monday.

According to the sheriff’s office report, a deputy who was traveling westbound picked up a radar reading at 91 mph on the oncoming car. The deputy turned around and the subsequent chase over four miles involved speeds up to 100 miles per hour.

The car went off the highway at the fairground, down the bank and came to a halt against the fence. A passenger was found next to the car, but the driver was not at the scene of the accident. State Troopers arrived on the scene and with the help of night vision equipment located the suspect about 100 yards from the wreck scene in an uncut wheat field.

Mackenzie allegedly told officers at the scene he had two prior convictions for drunken driving. He said he lost control of the car when he attempted to turn at the intersection of Highway 26 and the fairground road.

Formal charges had not been filed as of Tuesday.

Grandparents assigned custody

Ralph David and Margaret Enzweiler of LaCrosse were awarded custody of their granddaughter, Matea Enzweiler, in a non-parental custody decree issued Friday in Whitman County Superior Court. Their daughter and the girl’s mother, Yvonne Weed, died in a double fatality accident early June 20 outside of LaCrosse.

Bond and guardianship training requirements, required under state provisions, were waived by the court. Mathew Weed, the girl’s stepfather, was allowed visitation rights. Identity of the girl’s biological father is unknown.

Bomb threat closes clinic

Colfax Police last Thursday received a report that a man had called Whitman Medical Center and told them he had ability to blow up the building at any time. Assistant Chief Dave Szambelan said the caller, who did not identify himself, apparently was upset following a disagreement at the center.

Szambelan said the nature of the threat led officers to determine a search would have to be conducted in the medical center building. Staff members and other occupants at the center were evacuated to the hospital, which connects with the center, while officers and sheriff’s deputies searched the building.

Four city officers and four deputies were called to the scene and conducted a search of the building. Szambelan said the whole process took approximately two hours.

Apartment rents said diverted

Two suspects in a Pullman case involving an alleged 2008 theft scheme where rental income for North Campus Heights apartments was diverted pleaded not guilty Friday in superior court. Their trial date has been slated for Nov.15.

LaDonna Sue Parham and Robert Creach, former employees of North Campus Heights, had been summoned to appear in court Friday. Parham pleaded not guilty to seven counts, and Creach pleaded not guilty to six counts.

A third suspect, Jessica Bonato, failed to appear in court Friday in response to a summons, and a bench warrant was issued for her arrest with bail set at $10,000.

A Pullman police investigation report filed with the charges alleges managers listed as many as 40 of the apartments vacant when nine were later determined to be occupied.

The report alleges a review of the records documented $14,599 in rental income was misallocated. Alleged evidence from victim’s statements added $17,068 to the loss for a total of $31,667, the report said. In some instances, the report said, tenants paid in cash which was against the policy of the apartment company.

First degree theft charges against Parham, identified as on-site manager, and Creach, said to be the grounds keeper alleges the thefts took place in August and September of 2008. The report said Parham and Creach resided together in one of the apartments.

Another part of the investigation’s report alleged personal items were taken from the apartment of a tenant who was gone at the time. The report said some of items missing from the apartment were found stored in another apartment which was located across the hall from the one occupied by Parham and Creach.

The tenant allegedly told Pullman police 50 items were taken from her apartment. The report said other employees of the complex were told the apartment had been abandoned and allowed to remove items. The police report said their investigation of the situation indicated legal procedures against the tenant had not been initiated at the time employees were told the apartment had been abandoned.

Jessica Bonato, identified as a former clerk in the North Campus Heights office, was charged with being an accomplice. She also faces a charge of forging a money order.

Van hits deer on 270

Morgan F. Smith, 54, Moscow, was unhurt early Aug. 25 when the 1999 Chrysler Town & Country van she was driving struck a deer on the Moscow-Pullman Highway near mile marker six. According to the Washington State Patrol report, she was driving eastbound at 7 a.m. when the deer ran in front of the van.