Tacoma man shot in head after robbery attempt
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The unidentified man and his wife were parked at the store near South 47th Street and South Pine Street just after 4 p.m. when a man got into their car and demanded money, said Mark Fulghum, a Tacoma police spokesman.
The woman drove the car away from the parking lot for about a half-block, with the would-be robber inside, before getting out and running back to the store. Her husband also got out but was shot by the man, Fulghum said.
The victim, in his mid-30s, was taken to a local hospital. His condition was unclear late yesterday, Fulghum said.
After the shooting, the gunman retreated into a waiting car, possibly a teal-colored Mustang, driven by another man.
Corvallis, Ore.
Luring may be linked to disappearance
Law-enforcement officials want to know if an attempted kidnapping last week is in any way connected to the disappearance of Brooke Wilberger.
A man with a goatee, wearing a sweat shirt inscribed with the letter "A," lured a 17-year-old girl into his car Friday in the town of Lebanon — just 18 miles from where Wilberger went missing.
The girl in the latest attempted kidnapping managed to escape unscathed, officials said. A hunt is now on for the abductor, who was last seen driving a Silver Honda Accord with a gold tint.
Lebanon Detective Kim Hyde said that Lebanon police do not know whether the abduction last week has any connection to the disappearance of Wilberger, 19, who is believed to have been kidnapped May 24 from the parking lot of an apartment in Corvallis.
The Lebanon incident occurred around 1 p.m. Friday when the suspect driving the Accord passed the girl on the street and shouted at her to get into his car. She complied, believing he had a weapon, police said.
He drove a few blocks and then received a call on his cellphone, which the victim told police appeared to agitate him. She said he pulled over and let her out. She was not hurt.
Tacoma
Bail set for man held in 2 deaths in 2 days
A man was jailed on $1 million bail after police said he had accidentally shot one man to death and killed a second man the next day at a home on Tacoma's East Side.
Mitchell Frank Amell, 48, allegedly got bleach and other supplies to clean up the home of his former brother-in-law after shooting him Wednesday night. After the second shooting Thursday, he said he was going to burn down the house "to get rid of the evidence," court documents allege.
Raymond Adair Andries, 54, and John Charles Holloway, also 54, were both shot in the head, the Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office said Friday. Andries was shot once and Holloway multiple times.
Amell surrendered Thursday. He appeared in court Friday and is to have another court appearance tomorrow.
Authorities said Andries and Holloway had known each other since childhood and had worked together for years in a civilian department at Fort Lewis that handles hazardous waste.
Seattle
Southwest library to close for expansion
The Seattle Public Library's Southwest branch will close July 3 to undergo a $4.9 million expansion. The revamped library is expected to reopen in fall 2005.
The project will double the size of the library, at 9010 35th Ave. S.W., from 8,000 square feet to 16,000 square feet. The project also will add new computers and study areas, upgraded technology services, better lighting and more parking. The exterior also will be remodeled.
The closest public-library locations to the Southwest branch are the Delridge branch, at 5423 Delridge Way S.W.; the new Highpoint branch at 3411 S.W. Raymond St., which is to open Saturday; and the West Seattle branch, at 2306 42nd Ave. S.W.
The expansion is part of the $196 million "Libraries for All" bond measure passed by Seattle voters in 1998.
Seattle
Sound Transit gets check for light rail
Democratic U.S. Sen. Patty Murray joined Federal Transit Administration administrator Jennifer Dorn yesterday in a bipartisan appearance to hand over a large, symbolic $43.2 million check to Sound Transit for its light-rail system. The money is part of the $75 million earmarked in the 2004 federal budget for the "Central Link" system.
The check was handed over to King County Executive Ron Sims at Sound Transit's operations and maintenance base in South Seattle. Sound Transit said $15 million would help pay for final design. Some of the money also would go to construction on a Beacon Hill tunnel and right-of-way acquisition.
Work on the 14-mile, $2.44 billion line from Westlake Center to Tukwila began in November and is to be completed in 2009.
Times staff and news services