Bulletin Column

These reports are from the previous three issues of the Daily Bulletin in Colfax. They are reprinted here for the benefit of Gazette readers who reside outside of Colfax. Some accounts have been updated.

SENTENCED IN CHS BURGLARY

A 17-year-old juvenile who was arrested for the break-in at Colfax High School was sentenced to 75 days in detention Jan. 15 in juvenile court. The youth was credited for 46 days he has already served in custody. He has been in custody at Martin Hall, the joint juvenile facility at Medical Lake.

The high school break-in was discovered on Saturday morning of the Thanksgiving break. A police investigation at the time determined three classrooms in the building had been entered with access gained by breaking vertical glass panels on the classroom doors.

The police investigation included viewing of the surveillance recording from the building.

The youth also pleaded guilty to a charge of residential burglary involving the entry of a house on Deanway Nov. 24, and he was ordered to pay $503 restitution to the resident of that house.

DRUG OVERDOSE REPORT

County Coroner Peter Martin Friday reported the cause of death Jan. 6 of Violet Smith, 33, of Colfax was an accidental drug overdose. She was found dead at her home in Colfax Jan. 6. The coroner said she was last seen alive at about 11 a.m. that day.

Martin said the victim had somehow acquired a morphine patch and was using that to control pain. She had also been using oxycodone, a prescription drug used to control pain.

The combination of the morphine assimilation and the oxycodone resulted in an accidental drug overdose which led to respiratory failure.

The coroner said the assimilation rate of the morphine patch was 75 micrograms per hour. He added he and the investigating officer have been unable to determine where or how she acquired the patch which is a prescription medication.

BISTRO OPENS IN COLFAX

Bucalla’s Bistro marked a grand opening Jan. 14 at a leased site on the south end of the Master’s Touch Auto Repair lot in the 500 block of N. Main Street. The Bistro specializes in Mexican and American dishes with a breakfast menu from 9 a.m. until noon.

Service is done with a takeout format. The business is located in a former food service trailer which had formerly been used at carnivals and shows.

The proprietors plan to have the bistro open from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. with employees on the site in two shifts.

WINDOW HOLE PUZZLING

After investigating a report of a hole which appeared in a front window of Events on Main Jan 13 Colfax Police Chief Rick McNannay said nothing at the scene indicates the hole was intentionally cut through the glass.

McNannay said an expert from Steve’s Glass in Colfax examined the hole and found no evidence of scouring marks which are normally left by a glass cutting device.

The circular hole could have been made by a pole or it could have been the result of fault in the glass. The hole was in one of the older front windows at Events and not one of the new windows which were installed when the Main Street building was remodeled.

Police the previous week responded to a report of a rock being thrown at Events on Main and the appearance of the hole Jan. 13 led to conjecture that the hole was the result of another attempt at vandalism.

TWO MORE HOUSES

AT REDTAIL

Two more houses are expected to be constructed at Redtail Ridge when construction season gets underway, according to preliminary reports received by the city building inspector.

Addition of two houses at Redtail would make a total of five in the addition which is mostly on a ridge above the North Palouse River Road. The addition totals 36 lots. One of the two new houses is planned for one of the front elevation lots which are below the ridge.

DRIVER LICENSE FORGERY

Noemi Sanchez, 19, Pullman, was sentenced to six months in jail Jan. 9 after she admitted charges of forgery and driving under the influence. Sanchez told the court she realized she was an alcoholic and requested a sentence under which she could receive treatment.

Sanchez was arrested in Pullman Nov. 2 for driving under the influence. The Pullman Police report said she signed the arrest citation with the name of her sister, and through investigation they learned she had obtained a temporary driver’s license in her sister’s name. She told the license office she had lost her license, according to the report.

The prosecutor’s report Friday listed 13 counts of forgery filed against the defendant in 2013 in Chelan County Juvenile Court.

Judge David Frazier told Sanchez the six months in jail would give her time to dry out. He also placed her on two years of supervised probation under which she will be monitored for drinking violations.

Her driver’s license was revoked for a year, and she was ordered to pay $1,880 in fines and fees. The DUI conviction included a $1,000 fine and a two-day mandatory jail sentence which will be served concurrently with the forgery conviction. The jail time was mandatory because her blood alcohol reading after the arrest was .18 which exceeded the .15 limit for a one-day sentence.

The Pullman Police report said part of the investigation to determine the suspect’s correct identity was checking photos from activities at her sorority on WSU. The report noted she also goes by the name Mimi.

ADMITS OUT-OF-JAIL CAR THEFT

A Feb. 13 sentencing date has been slated for Kyle D. Mathews, 21, after he pleaded guilty to a charge of theft of a motor vehicle Jan. 16 in Whitman County Superior Court. Mathews was arrested Dec. 4 at Steptoe after he was seen taking a car from the parking lot at Rosauers in Colfax.

According to the police account, Mathews took the car, a 1972 Volvo, after he had been released from the county jail. He spotted the car which had been left in the lot with the keys in the ignition.

The owner of the Volvo saw it headed northbound on Main Street and reported the theft to police. That resulted in a police chase which ended with Trooper Bruce Blood chasing Mathews on foot after Mathews abandoned the car in Steptoe. Blood arrested Mathews at gun point.

Mathews Jan. 16 pleaded guilty to taking the car and to a Snohomish County charge which had transferred to prosecutors here on a change of venue waiver.

Prosecutor Denis Tracy reported to the court that Mathews had an extensive criminal record which led to a offender score of seven. Under the state’s sentencing range grid, Mathews faces between 22 and 29 months in prison.

Mathews has requested a drug offender sentencing option and was ordered to undergo an evaluation prior to the sentencing date. Under a drug offender option, he would be required to undergo in-patient drug treatment in lieu of serving a straight prison sentence.