In brief: Man shows pistol before robbing store

Spokane Valley police are looking for a man who robbed the Dollar Tree store on East Montgomery Avenue about 7:20 p.m. Wednesday.

The man walked into the store at 9211 E. Montgomery Ave., showed clerks a semi-automatic pistol tucked in the waistband of his jeans and fled with a small amount of money. He ran south across the parking lot and onto Montgomery Avenue, police said.

The robber was described as a white man in his 20s, about 170 pounds and 5-feet-10. He had a “reddish-blondish” goatee. He was wearing a tan Carhartt-style jacket, with a black and white camouflage hoodie underneath, and a black beanie.

Witnesses told police they saw the man standing in front of the store for a couple of hours before he went in. No one was injured during the robbery. Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Check at (509) 456-2233.

Early morning fire called suspicious

Spokane Valley fire officials said that a Wednesday morning blaze at a building along Interstate 90 started outside of the building and is considered suspicious.

The 4:04 a.m. fire at 13412 E. Nora Ave. was spotted by a neighbor who reported it. Firefighters arrived to find light smoke coming from the building and the fire on the south side of the building.

The fire burned a hole through the exterior wall and worked its way along the wall to a bathroom, where a water line to a toilet burst open, knocking down the blaze and helping firefighters.The building has been used as both a residence and commercial structure in the past and has been vacant for about two years, said Bill Clifford, public information officer for the Spokane Valley Fire Department. He said a for-sale sign was posted in front.

Man says he was attacked by robber

An elderly man was robbed in his Deer Park home this week by a man who knocked on his door seeking money for gas, officials said Wednesday.

The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office is looking for tips on the identity of the robber, who is described as a white man about 20 years old, 5-foot-6 to 6 feet tall and clean shaven.

The robbery was reported Tuesday afternoon after the victim’s daughter learned of the attack, which occurred about 5 p.m. Monday at the man’s home in the 3800 block of North Sherman Road, the Sheriff’s Office said.

The 85-year-old man said a young man knocked on his door and said he was out of gas and needed money. Intending to give him $20, the man went upstairs to retrieve his wallet and was headbutted when he returned to the front door.

The young man stole the wallet and left in a car driven by another man, according to the report. The victim said the car was “an old beater, possibly a sedan” and could not describe the driver.

Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call Crime Check at (509) 456-2233.

Families sue Tesoro over explosion deaths

SEATTLE – Relatives of six of the seven workers killed in an April 2010 explosion and fire at Tesoro Corp.’s Anacortes, Wash., oil refinery have filed a wrongful death lawsuit. The action filed Wednesday in Skagit County Superior Court alleges the company deliberately ignored dangerous conditions that led to the blast.

A contractor who was burned but survived joined the families in the lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages.

The lawsuit accuses Tesoro of failing to inspect decaying equipment and ignoring industry safety standards and federal laws governing refinery safety.

State Department of Labor and Industries investigators determined the explosion was preventable. The department fined Tesoro $2.39 million. San Antonio, Tex.-based Tesoro has appealed the fine.

Quake rattles state’s northwest corner

PORT ANGELES, Wash. – A small quake under the San Juan Islands rattled parts of northwest Washington on Tuesday.

Residents in the north Olympic Peninsula reported feeling the quake, according to KONP radio station in Port Angeles. There were no reports of injuries or damage.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the 3.2 magnitude quake at 8:36 a.m. Tuesday was centered five miles northwest of Friday Harbor at a depth of about 30 miles.