Auditors say Lynnwood police failed to alert them
Lynnwood
State auditors say they have no record of being alerted by Lynnwood police when they discovered thousands of dollars in cash plus drugs and guns missing from the department’s evidence room.
Auditor spokeswoman Mindy Chambers says state officials will recommend Lynnwood develop new protocols to alert the state about known or suspected losses.
FBI agents searched the home of Lynnwood Deputy Chief Paul Watkins as part of a probe into public corruption. They seized a handgun, money and other material.
Watkins had told investigators he put the items in evidence lockers at the Police Department but failed to fill out the paperwork.
No charges have been filed.
Port Orchard
Suspect in rape case contacts his family
The missing Port Orchard minister wanted for investigation of two counts of child rape has been in contact with his family and knows the Kitsap County sheriff is looking for him, sheriff spokesman Scott Wilson said Saturday.
Robbin Leeroy Harper, 60, is suspected of raping and sexually abusing young female members of his small, nondenominational church in South Colby.
Three potential victims have been identified, and police suspect there may be more.
Deputies, who say they have probable cause to arrest the pastor, served a search warrant on the pastor’s home Friday. He was last reported traveling in a red 2003 Hummer with the Washington license 432-RLT.
Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Lori Blankenship at 360-337-5615.
La Center, Clark County
“Waddling Bandit” suspect arrested
A man known to authorities as the “Waddling Bandit” and tied to more than 20 bank robberies was captured here Friday night without incident, the FBI said.
Officers from the Clark County Sheriff’s Office and the La Center Police Department arrested Robert A. Christie, 71, of Tillamook, Ore., as he drove through La Center.
He is suspected in nearly two dozen bank robberies over two years, stretching from Kelso to Medford, Ore.
Bellingham
WWU imposes ban on calendar sales
Western Washington University has told a former student he cannot sell his “Women of Western Swimsuit Calendar” on campus after the school received complaints that it was demeaning to women.
“I asked why and they said it doesn’t fit within university’s mission statement,” said Jason La Baw, WWU graduate and calendar creator.
Jim Schuster, director of Viking Union facilities, said several people voiced their complaints about the calendar to his office and to the office of the vice president of student affairs, both this quarter and last. La Baw said 300 people have joined an online Facebook group in support of the calendar, and he will circulate a petition to convince Schuster to reconsider.
Puyallup
Kissing principal back on the job
An investigation has determined that Puyallup High School Principal Mike Joyner had kissed female staff members on the job, but that the conduct was not sexual harassment.
Joyner returned to work Friday, but the investigator recommends the school district write him a “strongly worded letter of reprimand.”
The investigator found that at least six “unwelcome” incidents of Joyner kissing females took place in the 2004-05 and 2006-07 school years. The kisses involved three staffers and one student.
Bainbridge Island
Motorcycle crash kills man, 24
A 24-year-old motorcyclist was found dead near Manitou Beach and Murden Cove Road Saturday morning.
The victim, identified as Mark Daniel Edwards, of Bainbridge Island, apparently failed to negotiate a curve in the roadway, police said. Residents reported hearing what sounded like a speeding vehicle between 10 and 11 p.m. Friday. Witnesses are asked to call 206-842-5211.
Compiled by Seattle Times staff and The Associated Press