In brief: Pilot, 80, unhurt after biplane crash

An 80-year-old pilot walked away from the crash of an experimental bi-plane Wednesday near U.S. Highway 95 south of Coeur d’Alene.

Veteran pilot Ronald Tacheny was attempting to land the biplane around 2 p.m. on a grass airstrip near Whitla Road, about 10 miles south of town. He told Kootenai County Sheriff’s deputies that he misjudged the terrain on the uphill runway and had a “rough landing.” The plane’s left wheel struck soft dirt, breaking the wheel assembly. After bouncing a few times, the plane’s left wing struck a bush and the plane spun and stopped.

Sheriff’s deputies were alerted by a driver on Highway 95.

Tacheny said he wasn’t injured in the crash. He told deputies that he built the plane about 14 years ago and has been flying for more than 40 years.

Becky Kramer

Man claims Match.com date robbed him

A man told police that his first date with a woman he met on the match.com dating website went awry when she and an accomplice robbed him at gunpoint in downtown Spokane.

Tiffany A. Sellenbach, 48, and Brian R. McGaugh, 30, are jailed on a charges of first-degree armed robbery.

The victim told police that he and Sellenbach met at Northern Quest Casino for a date. He bought her dinner and drinks and gave her money to play the slot machines. At one point she introduced him to a man she called “Chad” and described as an acquaintance, according to court documents.

The man told police that Sellenbach left after claiming a family emergency, then called back a short time later to meet in a downtown parking lot. “Chad” pulled a gun on the victim and took his money and phone before leaving with Sellenbach, the victim told police.

Sellenbach reportedly told police that she didn’t really know the robber and that he had pulled her from the victim’s car by force. A former roommate of Sellenbach’s, however, told police the man was McGaugh, her boyfriend.

Nina Culver

Man pleads guilty in Worley store theft

A Worley, Idaho, man pleaded guilty Wednesday to stealing $22,655 from the Benewah Market, a business run by the Coeur d’Alene Tribe.

Adam Lee SiJohn, 26, said that he and others devised a plan to steal money from the market on the night of Aug. 20. A co-defendant gave SiJohn the keys and the combination to the store safe. He took three bank bags from the safe that contained cash and checks.

Becky Kramer