Work to close Mullan at Chase
The intersection of Mullan Avenue and Chase Road is closed in Post Falls beginning today.
Traffic will be detoured around the intersection 24 hours a day through Wednesday.
Crews are completing highway improvements.
Spokane
Two teens admit beating death
Peter Michael Joseph’s killers pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder.
Kory J. Bruno, 17, and Kevin D. Stevens, 19, beat Joseph to death with a baseball bat, wrapped him in a tarp and left him in the basement of a Spokane Valley home for nearly five weeks. Although just 17, Bruno was charged as an adult.
Joseph’s mother, Maria, wept as she listened to Stevens and Bruno admit their guilt before Spokane County Superior Court Judge Neal Rielly. She can’t forget that she hugged the two “boys” just hours before they murdered her son.
The homicide was discovered on April 28 after Stevens told several people he had a body in his basement, according to court documents. The motive for the killing was to rob Joseph of money and drugs.
Stevens’ sentencing was scheduled for 10 a.m. Nov. 17, and Bruno’s was set for 10 a.m. Dec. 15. Both face about 18 years in prison.
WSP trooper pleads not guilty
A Washington State Patrol trooper accused of encouraging two women to expose themselves in exchange for letting them drive away from a drunken driving charge has pleaded not guilty to two counts of unlawful imprisonment and one count of official misconduct.
Mark Haas was arraigned on the charges Wednesday in Spokane.
The accusations stem from an Aug. 18 traffic stop in north Spokane. The 28- and 30-year-old women called 911 crying and hysterical within a few minutes of leaving Haas to report the incident.
Court documents allege that Haas let the women drive away even though they admitted they’d been drinking. The driver’s breath test, given nearly two hours later by a WSP investigator, revealed a blood-alcohol level of .082, slightly over the legal limit, according to investigative reports.
Haas, a 22-year-veteran WSP trooper, has been on paid administrative leave since Aug. 18.
Pend Oreille County
Search for hunter to resume today
A search for a missing Spokane hunter was to resume today in northern Pend Oreille County.
The hunter, 49-year-old Nathan Swagel, was last seen Saturday morning at his campsite on Forest Service Road 1935, just south of Sullivan Lake.
Pend Oreille County sheriff’s Sgt. Alan Botzheim said Swagel was hunting in a remote and rugged portion of the Selkirk Mountains, but Swagel reportedly was in excellent physical condition and carrying extra gear.
Swagel began his hunting trip Saturday and was expected to return Monday evening. He was reported missing Tuesday.
Compiled from staff reports