Sorted by date Results 42 - 59 of 59
SPOKANE VALLEY – As of August 2024, Spokane Valley's unemployment rate stood at 4.7%, reflecting a small increase of 0.2% compared to Aug. 2023. This is a milder shift than other areas of Washington, such as Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, which saw unemployment rise by 0.9% over the same period. By contrast, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, saw a decrease in unemployment by -0.3% Statewide, Washington's unemployment rate has increased by 1.8%, leaving 38,600 additional people unemployed b...
SPOKANE – Liberty Lake is experiencing crime rate changes that reflect some of the troubling trends happening across Washington state. A recent report from the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) shows that violent crimes and vehicle thefts are rising, and Liberty Lake's statistics tell a similar story. In 2023, Liberty Lake reported a total of 649 offenses, which is a 6.7% increase compared to 2022. While there were no murders in Liberty Lake last y...
SPOKANE – Washington state has seen a significant rise in crime rates over the past five years, with increases in violent crimes, vehicle thefts, and aggravated assaults far outpacing national trends, according to a recent report by the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC). Between 2019 and 2023, murders in Washington increased by 87.4%, more than five times higher than the national rate of 17.2%. The murder rate in the state has risen more than 80% since 2019. Violent crime in Washington has gone u...
SPOKANE VALLEY — Four people were injured in a serious three-car crash on State Highway 27, about five miles south of the city on Friday morning. According to the Washington State Patrol, the crash happened at around 11:08 a.m. when a northbound car crossed the center line near Darknell Road and collided with two southbound vehicles. The crash blocked both directions of the highway. Trooper Andrew Derr, who was at the scene, said the driver of the car that crossed the line, identified as Paulino Albious, 29, of Spokane, w...
SPOKANE VALLEY - A Spokane Valley man was arrested after stealing a black Ford F250, leading police on a brief chase, and abandoning the vehicle near downtown Spokane. Deputies, with help from citizens, tracked down the suspect, 34-year-old Jamze K. West, who attempted to flee on foot. The incident began when the owner of a black Ford F250, stolen earlier that day, contacted Spokane Valley Deputies after successfully tracking his vehicle using GPS. The victim stated that he...
SPOKANE VALLEY – A local woman was arrested for DUI and felony hit-and-run after striking a bicyclist and fleeing the scene on Thursday, Oct. 3. Deputies located the suspect vehicle, a white Ford F150, and the driver, identified as 44-year-old Lisa M. Winnop, was taken into custody after showing signs of impairment. Deputies responded to reports of the crash at around 4:50 pm, where witnesses stated that the driver of a car matching the description of Winnop’s car hit a bicyclist who was legally crossing the roadway. The dri...
SPOKANE VALLEY – A deputy found a man passed out in the driver's seat of a running Toyota 4Runner in the middle of the road early on Saturday, Oct. 5. The driver, identified as 33-year old Aleksey A. Karptsov, woke up after several attempts by officers, but appeared confused and refused to cooperate. The incident occurred at approximately 12:55 am, when the deputy noticed the blue Toyota 4Runner blocking the southeast lane of East Saltese Road, just south of 16th Avenue. K...
SPOKANE VALLEY — Spokane Valley deputies arrested two teenage boys on Sept 25 after a robbery at Pronto Plus, 520 S. Pines Road. One suspect was taken into custody inside the store, while the other was caught a short distance away. Around 5:30 pm, deputies responded to a call about a robbery in progress. A witness was holding the store doors shut while an employee was reportedly fighting with one of the suspects behind the counter. When deputies arrived, they were told the second suspect had fled on foot toward the south. He...
SPRAGUE — A Spokane Valley man was killed in an early morning crash Saturday, Sept. 28, on Interstate 90. Craig E. Richardt, 61, of Spokane Valley, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash at 4:42 a.m. near Milepost 236. According to the Washington State Patrol, the crash occurred about 11 miles west of Sprague, near the south end of Sprague Lake in Adams County. Lloyd O. Arbaugh, 89, of Moses Lake, was westbound in a 1999 Dodge Ram pickup when he struck Richardt’s westbound 2009 Toyota Corolla, the patrol reported, not...
OTIS ORCHARDS – Yuriy V. Siriy, 34, was arrested on Sept. 24 in connection with several vehicle prowlings at Antoine Peak trailheads, according to the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office. The first incident occurred on Sept. 15, when Kathryn Whitt parked her vehicle at the Antoine Peak trailhead on East Wellesley Avenue around 9:15 am. She told Spokane County deputies that she had hidden her purse, which contained her wallet, credit cards, and identification, under the seat before beginning her hike. While hiking, she rec...
SPOKANE VALLEY — A 73-year-old man died after being struck by a vehicle on Friday, Sept. 27, near Valleyway Avenue. William J. Jura of Spokane Valley was hit while running across State Route 27 and later died at Sacred Heart Medical Center. Jura was crossing the road westbound when he was struck by a southbound 2011 Ford F350 in the right lane, driven by Ramon Pio Saucedo, 43, of Spokane. The collision occurred at around 7 p.m. Jura was transported to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The Washington State Patrol c...
SPOKANE VALLEY – A dump truck rollover led to an injury collision on Monday, Sept. 30, causing partial road blockage on the westbound Pines on-ramp from eastbound Montgomery in Spokane Valley. Washington State Patrol (WSP) Trooper Nance responded to the scene at around 12:30 pm, with firefighters and the Department of Transportation (DOT) also on site. The incident partially blocked the road until around 2 pm, when the entire roadway was fully closed to traffic. According to Sergeant Gregg Riddell, the Public Information O...
SPOKANE – Chaos erupted on Memorial Day as a stolen van careened into another vehicle, leaving a trail of injuries in its wake. The reckless teenage driver, accompanied by three passengers, collided with a Kia Soul at a breakneck speed of approximately 50 mph on a residential street with a posted speed limit of 25 mph. Witnesses described the driver as a 17-year-old white male with long brown hair and a beard, clad in Chuck Taylor shoes and a black T-shirt adorned with doberman pinchers. Following the collision, the j...
LIBERTY LAKE – A local man was sentenced to federal prison in connection with child pornography charges. Rick Lynn Johnson, 69, of Liberty Lake, was sentenced to federal prison and ordered to pay $60,000 in victim restitution after pleading guilty to receipt of child pornography before U.S. District Judge Thomas O. Rice Between May 30, 2021, and June 16, 2022, federal law enforcement discovered numerous instances of child pornography being downloaded by Johnson, court records show. In November 2022, federal agents executed a...
SPOKANE VALLEY – In a letter following the May 21 city council meeting, City Councilman Al Merkel expressed his deep concern and disappointment with the RFP process. “As a contract city, we should be fully capable of conducting a fair and transparent competition that clearly outlines an actionable scope of work and specific evaluation criteria,” Merkel wrote. “Unfortunately, this was not the case with our recent RFP process.” Merkel criticized the use of undisclosed criteria and personal relationships in the selection...
SPOKANE VALLEY – The Spokane Valley City Council approved a contract for a new homelessness outreach program amid concerns over the selection process. The council voted five to one to award the contract to Frontier Behavioral Health, with Councilman Al Merkel dissenting due to transparency issues in the RFP process. During the May 28th meeting, Gloria Mantz, Sarah Farr, and Eric Robison provided an overview of the RFP process. Mantz explained that the RFP was posted on the city website in March and advertised in local n...
SPOKANE VALLEY — MultiCare and Premera Blue Cross have successfully negotiated a new agreement, ensuring that all MultiCare hospitals, facilities, and providers will remain in-network for patients with Premera commercial, Individual Exchange Plan, and Medicare Advantage products. In a statement provided by Kevin Maloney, Media Relations Manager of MultiCare, the update confirms the new agreement is effective immediately. “This agreement ensures that all MultiCare hospitals, facilities, and providers will remain in-...
SPOKANE – A local man has been arrested following a May 22 standoff. Jae W. Lee, 36, is facing charges of second-degree burglary, second-degree theft and obstructing law enforcement. His arrest stems from a Spokane County Investigative Unit detectives’ attempt to serve a warrant at his residence. Lee barricaded himself inside despite repeated announcements from law enforcement, records show. The situation escalated, necessitating the intervention of the SWAT Team due to Lee’s behavior and the cluttered, hazardous condi...
