In brief: Man allegedly stabs guard outside deli

A uniformed security guard was reportedly stabbed by a man he caught sleeping outside a downtown business Friday morning.

The man was outside Our Daily Bread Deli, 120 N. Wall St., which is on the second-floor skywalk level downtown, when the guard from Phoenix Protective Services asked him to move along, according to court documents. The guard said that the man, later identified as Joshua M. Warren, stood up and took out a knife.

The guard reported using pepper spray on Warren to no effect and told police that Warren then charged him and stabbed him in the arm. The guard struck Warren twice in the hand with a baton before Warren left, according to court documents.

Several witnesses told police they saw Warren with a knife during the confrontation.

Warren told police that he was sleeping in the hallway outside the deli and only “flailed his arms” when he was woken up, according to court documents.

Warren is being held in the Spokane County Jail on $15,000 bail for a charge of second-degree assault.

Fight outside house leads to stabbing

A man told police he was stabbed in the chest early Saturday morning as he tried to prevent another man from breaking in his front door.

Police were called to 1228 E. Kiernan Ave. just before 2 a.m. Saturday. The victim told police that he awoke to Michael P. Brigman trying to break in his front door while looking for Brigman’s wife, whom he had argued with earlier, according to court documents.

The victim said he went out the back door and went outside to confront Brigman and got into a scuffle with him. During the fight the victim was stabbed.

Several witnesses told police that they saw the men fighting and saw Brigman stab the victim. Police reported the wound was non-life threatening.

Police found Brigman outside the house with two open pocket knives nearby, according to court documents. Brigman is facing a charge of first-degree assault.

Man pleads guilty in ex-deputy’s death

The second man  suspected of killing a former Asotin County Sheriff’s Office reserve deputy and dumping his body in the Spokane River pleaded guilty to manslaughter last week.

James C. Bonham, 36, was sentenced to six and a half years in prison for the death of Donald Jeffrey Kuest, whose body was found near John C. Shields Park on Nov. 22, 2013.

Authorities said Kuest died of drowning and hypothermia, but his body showed signs of struggle.

Michael Bullock, 41, was arrested with Bonham in connection with the death. He  pleaded guilty to manslaughter last July and received an eight-year prison sentence.

Falcons quarantined after avian flu found

Avian influenza has been discovered in three falcons and a small backyard flock of chickens in southern Idaho.

The falcons were from a private flock in Canyon County and the infection was the result of recent contact with wild ducks, according to the state Department of Agriculture. That flock has been quarantined, and remaining birds are being tested for the virus.

The infected chickens were also from a Canyon County flock. They were killed to prevent the spread of the disease.

The H5N2 strain of avian flu is deadly to poultry, but poses little risk to people. However, to reduce the risk of exposure, individuals handling wild and domestic birds should wash their hands after contact and cook all poultry and poultry products thoroughly, officials said.

The virus is spread through contact with the feces of infected birds.

State officials urge backyard poultry producers to keep flocks away from wild birds, including watering and feeding areas.

Avian flu was detected in the Tri-Cities area earlier this month, and in Western Washington.