Ceiling fan causes repair shop fire

A faulty bathroom ceiling fan caused a fire that damaged a large section of ceiling in a north Spokane auto repair shop Wednesday night.

Two dozen Spokane firefighters took about 15 minutes to confine the fire to a 240-square-foot section of ceiling above the bathroom and office at Nelson’s Auto Repair, 627 E. Francis, according to Battalion Chief Bruce Moline.

The blaze was reported about 9 p.m. by a passing motorist with a cell phone. Moline said some employees were still in the building and opened doors for firefighters when they arrived.

No one was injured, and the business will continue to operate as usual, Moline said.

Walgreens robber sought

Spokane police appealed Wednesday for help in finding a man who robbed a pharmacy Friday night with a bandage on his face.

Detectives said they aren’t sure whether the man really had an injury when he went to the Walgreens pharmacy at 2105 E. Wellesley Ave. and, claiming to have a gun, demanded a large amount of methadone.

The robber, who ran away, was described as a light-skinned black man, 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighing 120 pounds. He was wearing a gray-and-silver Reebok jacket.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at (509) 532-9266.

FORT LEWIS, Wash.

Soldier found guilty of killing 2

A Special Forces soldier was convicted Wednesday of killing two people outside a tavern near this Army post south of Tacoma.

An Army panel found Spc. Jamaal A. Lewis, 22, guilty of killing Pfc. Jason Jowers, 26, and another soldier’s wife, Crystal Hurley-McDowell, 23, during an attempted robbery outside a Lakewood tavern Sept. 5, 2005, Fort Lewis officials said in a news release Wednesday afternoon.