Alexandra Duggan

4 days ago | spokesman.com | Alexandra Duggan |Garrett Cabeza

A Washington immigrant who has drawn the attention of Spokane protesters was again deemed a “danger” by a federal judge on Monday for his struggle with federal officers back in April. Martin R. Diaz’s defense attorney argued there is a lack of evidence to support keeping his client in jail.

6 days ago | thenewstribune.com | Alexandra Duggan

Ray Kresek has been struck by lightning three times. He's watched colleagues die in fires. He saw a plane knock down a fire with dish soap. And he was among responders who pulled the bodies of 44 Air Force members from a plane crash. As the 88-year-old former firefighter sat in his home Friday, surrounded by memorabilia of firefighting artifacts he has collected over the years, Kresek insisted - again and again - this story was not to be written about him.

6 days ago | spokesman.com | Alexandra Duggan

Ray Kresek has been struck by lightning three times. He’s watched colleagues die in fires. He saw a plane knock down a fire with dish soap. And he was among responders who pulled the bodies of 44 Air Force members from a plane crash. As the 88-year-old former firefighter sat in his home Friday, surrounded by memorabilia of firefighting artifacts he has collected over the years, Kresek insisted – again and again – this story was not to be written about him.

1 week ago | thenewstribune.com | Alexandra Duggan

A federal judge sentenced a 24-year-old man to 10 years in prison for his role in a Mexican drug-trafficking operation, the U.S. Eastern District of Washington Attorney's Office said in a news release this week. Jose Efrain Gonzalez-Rodriguez was working for an organization out of Mexico that was transporting drugs from California to Spokane and distributing them, the release said. Agents searched his car last year and found nearly 7,000 fentanyl pills and 2 pounds of methamphetamine.

1 week ago | thenewstribune.com | Alexandra Duggan

A 4-acre fire in Mead Wednesday lead to area evacuations and the use of aircraft. The fire started in late afternoon in the area of Market Street and Parksmith Drive, according to Spokane Fire District 9 Chief Matthew Vinci. Plumes of smoke were visible from the highway. A level 3 evacuation order was issued for nearby homes but crews were ultimately able to stop forward progress of the fire. While the wind was a challenge, no structures were burned and no injuries were reported, Vinci said.