Most Recent Stories
Lawyer’s citizen complaint thrown out in DUI case
WENATCHEE — A Chelan County judge dismissed a citizen complaint Wednesday that accused a Wenatchee police officer of falsifying a DUI arrest report. District Court Judge Roy S. Fore said there’s no reason to believe Officer Jordan Orrell falsely swore out his statement against motorist Cameron V. Adams, 50, when he reported just two breath samples after asking Adams to blow seven times into two different blood-alcohol detectors.
Blewett Pass man guilty in drugs and stolen goods case
WENATCHEE — Accused of trafficking stolen property and a host of other charges, a Blewett Pass resident opted Monday for a quick trial with no jury. Jeffrey Lynn Rieker, 51, agreed to a stipulated facts trial before Chelan County Superior Court Judge Lesley Allan, who found him guilty of first-degree possession of stolen property, possession of a stolen vehicle, unlawful manufacture of marijuana, second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm and bail jumping.
Lincoln School attacker to serve prison time
WENATCHEE — A man who stripped naked and attacked a teacher on Lincoln Elementary School grounds last summer was sentenced Monday to just over two years in prison. Dion A. Chaney, 40, of Wenatchee again said in court he had no memory of the Aug. 31 incident, which was witnessed by teachers, students and parents as school let out for the day. He apologized for seizing the teacher, for which he pleaded guilty April 10 on charges of indecent liberties and unlawful imprisonment.
The Campaigner
Pro-life godfather Donald Smith, producer of ‘The Silent Scream,’ settles in East Wenatchee
Pro-life godfather Donald Smith, producer of ‘The Silent Scream,’ settles in East Wenatchee.
Blewett Pass man rejects plea in drugs and stolen property case
WENATCHEE — A Peshastin man charged with organizing burglaries throughout the Upper Valley withdrew last week from negotiations to enter a plea, leading prosecutors to seek enhanced charges. Jeffrey L. Rieker, 51, faced seven charges stemming from his arrest in January 2012, including possessing and trafficking stolen property, possessing a stolen vehicle, unlawful manufacture of marijuana, and unlawful possession of methamphetamine and a firearm. He’s due to stand trial starting Tuesday.
Chelan County towns move away from sheriff’s contracts
WENATCHEE — Cashmere and Leavenworth moved this week to end their contractual relationship with the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office, citing the rising costs of buying law enforcement for their citizens. Cashmere Mayor Jeff Gomes said the city council there voted Monday night to draft a letter informing Chelan County commissioners and Sheriff Brian Burnett that the town would not renew its contract for 2014. Leavenworth followed suit with an identical council vote on Tuesday.
Phone search leads to 25 child-porn charges
WENATCHEE — A homeless Wenatchee man faces 10 counts of possessing child pornography and 15 counts of distributing it via his cellphone. Christopher G. Carlson, 40, was to be arraigned today after a mobile Internet provider claimed he used their service to collect and exchange depictions of minors in sexual situations. The firm, airG, told the National Center For Missing and Exploited Children in April that Carlson uploaded and solicited child porn via online chat through his mobile phone.
The Worm: Paul Hardy, once more, with ‘Feeling’
Kickstarting Hardy: A Wenatchee theater star from Short Shakespeareans through his 2003 WHS graduation, Paul Cameron Hardy now treads the boards — and writes the plays — with independent stage company Glass Bandits Theater in New York. But theater costs money, which Hardy and Glass Bandits need to raise for a production of his new play, “Feeling,” which won him a seat at the Great Plains Theatre Conference this summer. The group aims to gather $34,725 through crowdfunding site Kickstarter to mount a full version of the dark comedy, Sept. 23 to Oct. 12 at The Secret Theater in Queens.
Court: Threat to kill ‘snitches’ doesn’t amount to intimidation
OLYMPIA — A Grant County gangmember’s promise to murder “snitches” who saw him fire on a police officer did not meet the definitions of witness intimidation required to convict him, the Washington Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday.
Sniffing out any trouble
State patrol bomb dogs on the Apple Blossom beat
WENATCHEE — His first circuit of the Apple Blossom Grand Parade route left the bomb detective sprawled in the shadow of a parked freight truck, his tongue hanging out. “We’re from the west side,” said his partner, Washington State Patrol Trooper Dave Edwards, as the morning temperature edged toward 70. “He’s not used to this warm weather.”