In brief: Man claims to have bomb in attempted Valley bank robbery

A man was quickly arrested after he walked into a Spokane Valley bank Saturday afternoon and demanded money, claiming to have a bomb strapped to his body.

Spokane Valley police arrived at the Chase Bank on Sprague Avenue just west of Pines Road within four minutes, said police spokesman Deputy Craig Chamberlin.

The bank employees kept their cool and tried to talk to the man, who was making rambling comments and not making much sense, Chamberlin said.

“He was talking gibberish,” he said. “He’s got some mental health issues.”

The man came out the front door with his hands up after officers arrived and surrounded the bank, Chamberlin said. He was arrested without incident and did not have a bomb or any other weapons.

The man is facing a charge of first-degree robbery.

Mother convicted in drowning death

SALEM – A Salem woman charged in the drowning death of her 3-year-old daughter has been found guilty of manslaughter.

The Statesman Journal reported the verdict Friday against 25-year-old Mercedes Alvarado came after a five-day trial.

Investigators said in April 2013 she was in another room wearing noise-canceling headphones before her live-in boyfriend found Aniya Zamora face down in a bathtub.

Medics rushed the child to Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland with injuries that included two broken ribs and a lacerated pancreas. She died four days later.

Prosecutor Katie Suver told jurors the mother knew her boyfriend had hurt the girl, who vomited for three days before she was put in the tub.

Alvarado told investigators the girl was disciplined but not abused.

Sentencing is scheduled June 30.

Dog shot by police in Kennewick

KENNEWICK – A loose dog was shot and killed Saturday morning in Kennewick after it attacked a teenage boy and charged police and animal control officers.

Police were called at 9:45 a.m. after resident Deana Cheney reported her 14-year-old son was scratched in the back and elbow by the pit bull and Lab mix, a release said. The boy did not require medical attention.

Officers found the dog in the backyard of a home. It was aggressive and charged them and an animal control officer who was called in for the incident. The officers shot and killed the dog when it lunged at them.

Police are investigating whether the dog was registered in the city and if its owners were complying with regulations.