Man charged with assault

Spokane Valley police arrested a man Friday who was thought to have stabbed another man in the heart late Thursday.

Curtis A. Nelson, 21, was booked into Spokane County Jail for first-degree assault, said spokesman Sgt. Dave Reagan.

Nelson was at the man’s home at about 11:30 p.m. Thursday, in the area of Pines and Mansfield, when the two got into a confrontation over a large amount of cash, Reagan said.

Nelson grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed the 36-year-old Spokane Valley man in the chest, Reagan said. The victim was taken to a hospital.

Nelson grabbed a second knife before fleeing the residence, Reagan said. Nelson was captured Friday in a field in the 13600 block of East Broadway shortly after he ran from a relative’s home.

The stab victim is recovering at an area hospital and is expected to survive, Reagan said.

– Jody Lawrence-Turner

Liberty Lake

Ban on parking to be enforced

After a series of events kept firefighters away from people who needed help last Independence Day at Liberty Lake, officials are enforcing rules to keep cars out of the path of emergency workers on this Fourth of July.

The rules require that cars not park on streets surrounding the lake.

Any vehicles left on the asphalt will receive tickets, and if they block the path of emergency vehicles, they’ll be towed at the owner’s expense, said Spokane Valley Fire Department Assistant Chief Dave Lobdell.

The enforcement comes on the heels of last year’s festivities, in which a man suffered a heart attack during the fireworks show.

One man broke his ankle when trying to help him, and another suffered burns as he jumped through a bonfire to get to the man.

At the same time, a mortar shell on a barge in the lake exploded too close to the ground, severely injuring the pyrotechnician on the boat, Lobdell said.

Firefighters had trouble reaching the incidents because cars were blocking the paths of fire and rescue trucks, Lobdell said.

– Chris Rodkey