In brief: Dry spell breaks many local records

There has been so little rain in the Inland Northwest since the beginning of August that many locales have broken records, according to the National Weather Service.

Since the beginning of August through Oct. 10, only 0.13 inches of rain have fallen in Spokane. The previous record was 0.18 inches, set in 1991. Record-keeping goes back to 1881.

Records for dryness also were set in Pullman, Moscow, Colville, Ephrata, Kellogg, Northport, Lewiston, Omak and St. Maries, the weather service said.

The stretch of consecutive days without rain also is notable: Pullman has gone 82 days without measurable precipitation, breaking the 78-day record set in 1987.

Another five deer poached, left to rot

Five deer were shot, killed and left to rot north of Reardan around Oct. 4, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife police said Wednesday.

It’s the second five-deer poaching case the agency has investigated in the region in two weeks.

The Lincoln County deer included three bucks and two does shot with small-caliber firearms in and near an alfalfa field.

In late September, five whitetails were found dead in another case north of Spokane Valley after spotlighting activity was noticed near the intersection of Farwell and Peck roads.

Rewards are offered for information leading to arrests in these cases; call the agency’s regional office in Spokane, (509) 892-1001. 

Carpentry con man sentenced to prison

A con man whose schemes made victims out of dozens of people in three states was sentenced Wednesday to 29 months in prison.

Superior Court Judge Jerome Leveque sentenced 60-year-old Ronald G. Stratton to the high end of the range after a jury convicted him last month of 12 counts of theft by deception.

Stratton placed advertisements promising custom carpentry work. He would make a deal and skip out with advance payments, according to court records.

Stratton has previous convictions in Idaho and Montana for similar schemes.

Daughter in custody after guns stolen

Investigators arrested a girl Wednesday on suspicion of stealing guns from her father in Medical Lake.

The 17-year-old female was booked into the Spokane County Juvenile Detention Facility in connection with the Sept. 17 theft of 21 firearms from her father’s Wilcox Street home. The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office said she gave the guns to 21-year-old Bradley Kelly in exchange for his pickup truck, which she never received, and to 20-year-old Cody Wolfley.

The juvenile and Wolfley each face one count of burglary, 21 counts of trafficking in stolen property, 21 counts of theft of a firearm and 21 counts of possession of a stolen firearm. 

Kelly faces nine counts of possession of stolen property.

Through their investigation, detectives determined the 17-year-old stole her father’s firearms from their residence but was assisted in the process by Wolfley and Kelly, according to sheriff’s Deputy Craig Chamberlin.

The investigation is ongoing, and anyone with information is asked to call Crime Check at (509) 456-2233.