Quake hits east of Mount Rainier
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake hit seven miles east of the summit of Mount Rainier on Saturday night at 7:48, but no immediate damage or injuries were reported.
Tom Yelin of the University of Washington Seismology Laboratory said he didn’t think the quake was associated with any volcanic activity. The quake was felt over a wide area and rattled homes throughout Pierce and south King County.
Callers from Packwood, Maple Valley, Enumclaw and Renton reported feeling the quake.
The shallow quake was followed by two smaller aftershocks.
U.S. Geological Survey monitoring equipment reported the earthquake’s epicenter about 2.8 miles below the surface.
LACEY, Wash.
Female patients allege misconduct
A doctor has been accused of sexual misconduct by three female patients at Providence St. Peter Hospital’s chemical dependency unit.
The patients, two women and a 16-year-old, said Jitesh Jagdish Chawla, 30, touched them inappropriately during examinations last year.
All three complained to a hospital official on Dec. 19, according to a probable cause certificate filed in Thurston County Superior Court. The hospital released Chawla on Dec. 23.
Chawla posted $40,000 bail after pleading innocent Friday to three counts of indecent liberties, each of which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
Judge Paula Casey ordered that he have no one-on-one contact with females other than his wife and mother.
A hearing is set for Oct. 26.
Mike Kerlin, director of Psychiatry and Chemical Dependency at Providence St. Peter, told detectives it’s standard practice to have a third person with a doctor and a patient during medical examinations.
Chawla was advised of the policy, but never used a chaperone while at the chemical dependency center, Kerlin said.
BEND, Ore.
Shooting by police ruled justified
A Deschutes County grand jury has found that three officers involved in the fatal shooting of a 35-year-old La Pine man last month were justified in using deadly force.
Devon Linville died from a bullet wound to the chest, after being shot a total of four times by three officers, a report prepared by the Deschutes County district attorney’s office said.
A grand jury heard testimony for three days behind closed doors this week and issued its findings Friday afternoon.
According to a report released by Deschutes County District Attorney Mike Dugan, Linville’s mother, Glenda, had called 911 to report that her son, who had bipolar disorder, was out of control inside their home, and had threatened to kill her.
When officers arrived, they could not get Devon Linville to calm down and cooperate, according to the report, and called for backup, after reports that he was armed with a knife.