Briefly
Raid uncovers pound of crack cocaine
Spokane sheriff’s investigators found a pound of crack cocaine during a raid Wednesday afternoon at a South Hill apartment, the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office reported.
Two people who live at the apartment, 2407 S. Grand Blvd., were arrested out of their car at Third Avenue and Division Street, sheriff’s spokesman Dave Reagan said in a press release. Authorities did not want to confront them at the house because they believed they possessed firearms.
Besides the crack, investigators also confiscated marijuana and cash, Reagan said.
Eric L. Jennings, 30, and Angellina M. Sprayberry, 23, were booked into jail on charges of controlled substance delivery.
A 4-year-old who lives with Jennings and Sprayberry was at day care at the time of the raid, Reagan said. Custody of the child is expected to be turned over to Child Protective Services.
Detectives also raided an apartment at 2224 S. Grand and found marijuana. Detectives believe that occupants of both of the raided residences were dealing the drugs and that tenants of the second apartment were trading marijuana with Jennings and Sprayberry for cocaine, Reagan said.
The residents of the second apartment were not home at the time of the raid. Police had not made any arrests in connection with the second address as of early Wednesday evening.
Recently released offender moves downtown
A high-risk sex offender has moved to downtown Spokane.
George Allen Balcom, 51, was released from prison Nov. 4. He just served eight years after he was convicted of first-degree child molestation, Spokane police spokesman Dick Cottam said in a press release.
Balcom also was convicted of two other sex crimes. In those cases, the victims were a 5-year-old boy and a 6-year-old boy, Cottam said.
Balcom stands 5 feet 11, 205 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. The state Department of Corrections will supervise Balcom for the next 36 months, Cottam said.
During that probation, Balcom has been ordered not to have any contact with anyone under the age of 18, Cottam said.
Balcom is not wanted by law enforcement at this time. But because of his record, he is considered likely to reoffend, Cottam said.
Part of Interstate 90 to be narrowed
Westbound Interstate 90 will be reduced to one lane between Sullivan and Argonne from 6 tonight until 7 a.m. Friday.
The same lane restriction will also be in effect on Friday night and Saturday during daylight hours.
Crews will be moving concrete barriers to widen the inside shoulder for the winter.
If they don’t finish by Saturday, crews will resume working on the project Monday night and possibly Tuesday night.
Local court case featured on reality TV
Viewers of what PAX TV calls an “extraordinary one-hour reality series” will get a recycled view of a Spokane County court case in which a man pleaded guilty to third-degree assault and was sentenced to 240 hours of community service.
The PAX network’s “Second Verdict” show on Monday at 10 p.m. will feature a mock trial based on the case of Donald Kent Skjold, who struck another man in the face with a Weed Eater-type lawn trimmer in September 2001 while the machine was running.
Tom Silver, then 76, was knocked to the ground, where his head was battered a second time. Silver was confronting Skjold about a broken car window.
Skjold, now 44, claimed the blow occurred accidentally when he turned around. When a jury was unable to reach a verdict on either second-degree or third-degree assault charges, Skjold pleaded guilty to third-degree assault to avoid being charged again with second-degree assault.
According to a PAX press release, the “Second Verdict” show features “rare and exclusive footage from high-profile cases.” In addition, the trial is re-enacted and a mock jury makes its own decision.
A PAX spokeswoman said the mock jury “must decide whether a piece of lawn equipment can be considered an assault weapon.”
In reality, Skjold was charged with use of a “deadly weapon.” An assault weapon is a type of firearm, while a deadly weapon is anything capable of causing death — other than a firearm. Use of a gun is a more serious charge.
Skjold’s attorney in real life argued that the lawn trimmer, as wielded by Skjold, wasn’t capable of killing Silver. Assistant Public Defender Stephen Heintz said Silver suffered only a scrape and a bruise.
Suspect in Valley shooting arrested
A man accused of shooting another man at a Spokane Valley restaurant in July was booked into the Spokane County Jail last week, sheriff’s officials confirmed Wednesday.
Nathaniel J. Dishneau, 24, was arrested in Seattle and has been charged with attempted first-degree murder. He remains in jail on a $500,000 bond.
The shooting occurred on July 23 at Thai Way Restaurant and Lounge at Broadway and Fancher. The victim, Freddie J. Miller, was shot in the head and back, and was treated and released from Sacred Heart Medical Center, according to court documents.
Soon after the shooting, a deputy pulled over a vehicle that matched witnesses’ descriptions of the shooter’s car, court records say. Dishneau was inside the vehicle and admitted to being at the restaurant at the time of the incident, documents say.
Although he was a suspect, Dishneau was not arrested at that time, said Spokane County Sheriff’s spokesman Dave Reagan. A few days after the shooting, however, Secret Witness announced a reward for information leading to his arrest.
This is not the first time Dishneau has faced an attempted murder charge. In 1999 he was charged with seven counts of attempted first-degree murder in connection with a shooting spree that took place in December 1998 at a downtown fast-food restaurant.
Dishneau said maintained that he was with the shooter that night, but did not take part in the crime. He pleaded guilty to assault and rioting, and the attempted murder charges were dropped.