In brief: Medical examiner IDs man who drowned

The Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office has identified a man who drowned early Wednesday in the Spokane River in downtown Spokane as 28-year-old Michael Farley.

Farley died of drowning and hypothermia, according to an autopsy conducted Wednesday. Police found his body in the Spokane River after 8 a.m. Wednesday.

Spokane police detectives are investigating.

Man who robbed bank may be marked by dye

Witnesses told police that a man who robbed a north Spokane bank Wednesday afternoon may be marked by a red dye pack that was slipped in with the cash he stole.

The robbery was reported at 4:05 p.m. at Inland Northwest Bank, 2100 N. Ruby St. The robber handed over a note that instructed the teller to put cash inside a backpack, Spokane police Lt. Matt Cowles said. He did not show a weapon.

The man is described as white, about 5 feet 10 inches tall, wearing tan pants and a black zip-up sweatshirt. He also was wearing a white or tan mask that may have been made out of burlap, Cowles said.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Crime Check at (509) 456-2233

Spokane rapist may spend life behind bars

A Spokane rapist may spend the rest of his life behind bars under a sentence handed down Wednesday in Spokane County Superior Court, according to a news release from the attorney general’s office.

Michael M. Phillips, 33, was found guilty of first-degree rape on Dec. 19. His minimum prison term was set at 24 years and seven months. Before he is released from prison he must be deemed safe to be released by the state Indeterminate Sentence Review Board. If the board does not deem him safe to be released, he could be in prison for the rest of his life, the news release said.

Phillips threatened a Spokane woman with what appeared to be a gun and raped her in 2008. The weapon was later determined to be a BB gun.

In 2002, Phillips was convicted of second-degree child molestation, two counts of indecent liberties and third-degree rape. The charges were connected to five victims between the ages of 6 and 15.

After the 2008 rape, Phillips was sent back to prison for violating his release conditions related to those convictions. He has been in prison ever since, while a state petition alleging he is a sexually violent predator was pending. The first-degree rape charge related to the 2008 case was filed in October 2013.

Ex-teacher’s rape trial declared mistrial

A judge declared a mistrial Wednesday after a jury could not reach a verdict in the trial of a former high school teacher in Coeur d’Alene accused of lewd conduct with a young child.

“I know you gave it your best shot,” 1st District Judge Fred Gibler said, adding that the jury worked as hard as any he has seen.

Daniel Abram Taylor was a science teacher at Venture High School, the Coeur d’Alene School District’s alternative high school, when he was arrested in 2013 on charges of raping a 5-year-old in the fall of 2012. The alleged rape did not involve a student or happen on school grounds, and Taylor resigned from his job in March 2014.

Initially he was charged with three felonies, which were amended to one count of lewd conduct with a child under 16. Taylor pleaded not guilty.

Kootenai County Prosecuting Attorney Barry McHugh said, “We intend to go forward at a second trial.”

Tar sand, shale film to be shown at GU

A former Sandpoint resident’s film on tar sand and shale oil development in the headwaters of the Colorado River will be shown at 7 p.m. Feb. 26 at Gonzaga University.

Jennifer Ekstrom, producer and director of “Last Rush for the Wild West: Tar Sands, Oil Shale and the American Frontier,” will be at the free screening. Ekstrom was formerly the executive director of Lake Pend Oreille Waterkeeper. The event is hosted by the Spokane Riverkeeper, the Sierra Club and Gonzaga’s Environmental Studies program.

The film will be shown in Wolff Auditorium, Gonzaga University, Jepson 114.

Yellowstone bears waking up early

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. – A relatively mild winter means bears are waking up from hibernation earlier than normal in and around Yellowstone National Park.

Yellowstone officials say a grizzly bear was spotted Monday scavenging on a bison carcass in the central part of the park. That means outdoor enthusiasts should stay in groups of three or more, make noise on the trail and carry bear spray.

Bears begin looking for food soon after they emerge from their dens, and they are attracted to elk and bison that have died during the winter.

Park rules require visitors to stay 100 yards from black and grizzly bears.