Men Arrested in Othello Drive-By Shooting, Bulldozer Rampage Causes Extensive Damage – Northwest News Roundup May 14 Afternoon
Here is the latest news from the Associated Press and Newstalk 870.
Suspects Arrested in Othello Drive-By That Left Child Injured
OTHELLO, Wash. (AP) — Adams County authorities say they have arrested two men in connection to a drive-by shooting that left a 4-year-old child with a bullet fragment in his head.
The Adams County Sheriff Doug Barger says Felipe Michael Garza and Cesar Chavez-Serna were arrested Monday night in two different Othello homes.
Barger says investigators found the car they believe was used in the drive-by at the same house where Garza was arrested. The car was taken to the Washington State Crime Lab to be processed.
The Tri-City Herald reports (http://bit.ly/ZYJZIx) the child was wounded Friday when he and four family members were in a red Cadillac. A brown car pulled up and fired several rounds from a 9mm pistol into the car. The family then drove about five blocks to their house while the suspects chased them.
The child was treated at a local hospital and released hours later.
Damage in Bulldozer Rampage Estimated at $300,000
PORT ANGELES, Wash. (AP) — Damage is estimated at $300,000 at a subdivision near Port Angeles where a man destroyed three houses with a bulldozer, damaged another home and crushed two sheds, a pickup truck, lawn mower, fences and other property in a dispute with a neighbor.
No one was injured in Friday's rampage, and 51-year-old Barry Swegle is held on $1 million bail for possible charges of assault and malicious mischief. He's due in Clallam County Superior Court on Wednesday when an arraignment may be set.
The Peninsula Daily News reports (http://bit.ly/17pXpVk ) Swegle had a dispute with a neighbor over a fence that he said made it difficult to maneuver the bulldozer and other heavy equipment he owns.
Former Hanford Worker Will Not Receive Money from Settlement
RICHLAND, Wash. (AP) — A judge has ruled that a former worker convicted of time card fraud at the Hanford nuclear reservation will not receive any money from a government settlement.
The Tri-City Herald reports that Carl Schroeder had worked for former Hanford contractor CH2M Hill Hanford Group Inc. The company agreed in March to pay an $18.5 million civil and criminal penalty related to the time card scheme.
Schroeder filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the company in June 2009. He also was one of nine current or former employees to plead guilty to charges in the scheme.
U.S. Judge Lonny Suko dismissed Schroeder from the whistleblower lawsuit Monday. Suko said the law is clear that anyone convicted of criminal conduct not receive any part of a settlement that resulted from the fraud.
Oregon House Votes To Extend Hospital Tax
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — The Oregon House has voted to extend a tax on hospitals and nursing homes that provides a big portion of the state budget for health care.
The measure would extend a tax on hospital revenue for two more years. The tax revenue is ultimately returned to hospitals, but it generates federal matching funds that help pay for the Oregon Health Plan, the state's Medicaid program.
The nursing home tax will be extended until 2020. Nursing homes that are currently exempt will have to begin paying it.
The 55-4 vote in the House on Tuesday sends the measure to the Senate, where Republicans are threatening to block it. GOP lawmakers want to use the bill as a bargaining chip to extract steeper cuts to public-employee pensions.
More From 870 AM KFLD
