In brief: Kootenai County prosecutor says police shooting was justified

Sandpoint police officers who shot and killed a woman outside Bonner General Hospital this summer used justifiable force, Kootenai County Prosecutor Barry McHugh has determined.

Jeanetta Riley, 35, was shot by two officers after they were called to the hospital the evening of July 8.

The hospital’s emergency department called 911 about a man who had come into the lobby saying his wife was outside in their van threatening to attack anyone who approached her, investigators said.

Riley exited the van when three officers, Skylar Ziegler, Mike Valenzuela and Garrett Johnson, arrived. She threatened the officers, “quickly approached” them and ignored commands to drop her knife, according to a news release from Sandpoint police that was distributed on Thursday. Two of the officers fired five shots when she was within 10 feet of one of them, the news release said.

In a letter to a Bonner County sheriff’s detective investigating the incident, McHugh said officers “were faced with a quickly evolving set of circumstances that left them convinced that Ms. Riley had the intent to use the knife to do them great bodily harm and had the ability to do so,” according to the news release.

From staff reports

South Hill’s High Drive open to traffic again

High Drive in southwest Spokane will reopen to traffic about 4 p.m. today for the first time in more than three months.

The road was closed from 29th Avenue to Bernard Street in late July. The project rebuilt the street and added new sewage, stormwater, pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure.

A second phase from Bernard to Hatch Road will be completed next spring. Total cost of both phases has been estimated at nearly $9 million.

From staff reports

Cash reward offered in brothers’ killings

Crime Stoppers of the Inland Northwest is offering a cash reward for anyone providing information leading to an arrest in Saturday’s fatal shootings of brothers Arturo Gallegos and Juan Gallegos-Rodriguez.

The brothers were shot at the Broadway Square Apartments in Spokane Valley, where they lived. Investigators believe the shootings were a targeted execution.

Investigators ask that anyone with information call the Crime Stoppers Tip Line at (800) 222-TIPS, or submit a tip online at crimestoppers inlandnorthwest.org. Crime Stoppers is a civilian organization that is not affiliated with law enforcement.

From staff reports