In brief: Box of live grenades found in Post Falls home
A box of live grenades was found at a Post Falls home Wednesday and safely removed by the Spokane Police Department bomb squad.
The government-issued grenades were handed over to representatives of the 92nd Civil Engineering Squadron from Fairchild Air Force Base, the Post Falls Police Department said.
Police arrested Raymond E. Ruprecht for possession of unlawful destructive devices and possession of stolen property, both felonies.
Police were called to the home in the 500 block of West 12th Avenue around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. The home was evacuated before the bomb squad arrived.
Free blood-lead testing offered
The Panhandle Health District’s Kellogg office is offering free blood-lead testing for children and expectant mothers.
The testing runs from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through July 31, and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Aug. 1.
The Kellogg office is at 114 W. Riverside Ave. No appointment is necessary.
Historic mining waste led to high levels of lead in parts of the Silver Valley. Screening allows for quick action if a child’s blood-lead levels are elevated.
Eligible kids between the ages of 6 months and 6 years of age, residing in the basin portions of the Superfund Site, will get $30 each for participating in the testing.
Man to serve for grand theft
A Coeur d’Alene man will serve up to 10 years in prison for stealing cash, a credit card and gift cards from Lake City Junior Academy last November, and for two other cases of grand theft.
Jason Dunbar, 41, was sentenced Wednesday in 1st District Court to at least three years in prison with the possibility of an additional seven years. He pleaded guilty in May to conspiracy to commit burglary, three counts of grand theft, unlawful possession of a firearm, and possession of methamphetamine.
Dunbar has four previous felony convictions and four misdemeanor convictions. He blamed his criminal activity on his meth use and his failure to take medications for mental health issues, the Kootenai County Prosecutor’s office said.
NorthTown to add 2 restaurants
NorthTown Mall will add two popular restaurants, Outback Steakhouse and Bonefish Grill, later this year.
It will be the third Spokane location for Outback and the first for Bonefish, founded 15 years ago in Florida. Both are owned by national chain Bloomin’ Brands Restaurants.
Bonefish serves seafood and wood-grilled dishes. Outback is popular for steaks, chicken, seafood and its signature onion appetizer.
The restaurants will share a kitchen but have separate entrances and dining areas. They will occupy 9,814 square feet next to Kohl’s in the mall’s redeveloped north concourse.
Man sentenced for scam
A Spokane man has been sentenced to a year in jail and ordered to pay back $76,000 in disability benefits after the Department of Labor and Industries accused him of running a worker’s compensation scam.
Gary B. Farnworth II, 48, was managing the TCS Auto Wholesale used car dealership on East Sprague Avenue from 2010-12 while telling the Department of Labor and Industries he couldn’t work because he injured his back while working for a steel company in 2007.
The Department of Labor and Industries conducted an investigation after receiving an anonymous tip about Farnworth. They took video of him opening heavy gates, replacing a car battery and doing other physical work, according to an L&I press release.
Farnworth was convicted of two counts of first-degree theft last month. The jury determined that the crimes were a “major economic offense,” which allowed him to be sentenced to a longer than standard jail sentence.
‘Protector’ killed in shooting
SEATTLE – A community leader credited with patrolling and protecting the streets of Seattle’s International District for decades has been killed in a shooting.
Seattle police said officers were called to the downtown neighborhood at 3 a.m. Thursday and a man with life-threatening injuries was taken to Harborview Medical Center, where he later died.
Authorities have not released the victim’s name, but Gov. Jay Inslee, King County Executive Dow Constantine and others issued statements mourning the loss of Donnie Chin. Constantine called him a hero who dedicated himself “to protecting the vulnerable and frail.”
“His loss hits at the very heart of our community,” Constantine said.
Chin directed the International District Emergency Center, a not-for-profit group that monitors the neighborhood.
The Asian Counseling and Referral Service said in a statement on its Facebook page that the community is grieving the death of Chin. It called him “one of the community’s beating hearts.”
The group said Chin was a community organizer who looked out for and watched over youth, seniors and other vulnerable members of the International District for 45 years.
Police said they do not believe the victim was the intended target of the shooting. They released few other details.