Local News

UPDATE: Search suspended for man in Port Gardner Bay

UPDATE, 4:30 p.m. | The search-and-rescue operation has been suspended, according to a news release from the city of Everett.  Crews are now preparing for a “recovery” operation, expected to begin this evening.

EARLIER POST | Everett police and firefighters are searching for a man who reportedly went into the water when a 12-foot dingy sank in Port Gardner Bay.

The Coast Guard received a report at about 1:30 p.m. that a man was pulled from the water after the dingy went down. The man told his rescuers that a second man was still missing.

The missing man is not believed to be wearing a lifejacket, the Coast Guard said.

0 comments | More in The Blotter | Topics: Everett, Search

Woman won’t face death penalty in Everett homicides

Snohomish County Prosecutor Mark Roe has decided not to seek the death penalty for Holly Ann Grigsby, who is accused, along with her boyfriend, of killing David “Red” Pedersen and Leslie Pedersen in Everett in September.

Grigsby’s boyfriend, white supremacist David Joseph “Joey” Pedersen, pleaded guilty to the killings in March and faces life in prison without parole. He is victim David Pedersen’s son.

Grisby, 24, is charged with two counts of aggravated first-degree murder and faces life in prison without parole if she’s convicted. 

In deciding not to seek the death penalty against Grigsby, Roe cited her lack of prior violent criminal history and her age.  He also noted that she appears to have been following the lead of her boyfriend in participating in the slayings.

Police allege that after killing Red and Leslie Pedersen, the couple drove Red Pedersen’s SUV to Oregon, where they shot and killed 19-year-old Cody Myers and stole his car.

Grigsby told police they shot Myers “because his last name made them think he was Jewish,” according to charging documents. Prosecutors said Grigsby claimed she and Pedersen planned to drive to Sacramento, Calif., to “kill more Jews.”

The couple also are suspected of killing Reginald Alan Clark, 53, an African-American man who was found shot to death in the back seat of his pickup in Eureka, Calif.

Pedersen and Grigsby were arrested Oct. 5 in Yuba City, Calif.

Pedersen was sentenced to two years in federal prison in 2001 for threatening to kill a U.S. District Court judge in Boise, Idaho.

2 comments | More in The Blotter | Topics: Everett, homicide, Snohomish County Prosecutor's Office

Report: Kayakers on trip that killed Gonzaga freshman from Everett were ill prepared

The Associated Press

SPOKANE — A new report says members of a kayaking group from Gonzaga University were ill prepared for conditions during a kayaking trip that ended with the death of a student from Everett.

The report issued Tuesday by the Whitman County Sheriff’s Office says the death was the result of a lethal combination of near-freezing temperatures, cold water and high winds.

Chris Gormley, a Gonzaga freshman, died after his kayak capsized on April 1 in high winds and left him immersed in Rock Lake for more than an hour.

Read the full story here.

0 comments | More in Education, General news | Topics: Everett, Gonzaga University

Driver bails from disabled car during Snohomish Co. chase

Snohomish County sheriff’s deputies are searching for a reckless driver who took off on foot after his car was disabled this morning using a spike strip.

Just before 10 a.m., a deputy tried to stop a 2000 Honda Civic for reckless driving near Highway 99 and Airport Road in South Everett. The driver sped south on Highway 99, reaching speeds of 80 mph, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies deployed a spike strip near Highway 99 and 188th Street Southwest, deflating the passenger-side tires. The pursuit continued to 196th Street Southwest and Highway 99 in Lynnwood, where the  driver bailed out of the car and took off on foot.

Sheriff’s deputies are currently using a K9 unit to track the driver.

0 comments | More in The Blotter | Topics: Everett, police pursuit, Snohomish County Sheriff's Office

Everett homicide victim identified

Luis Verduzco (Everett police photo)

A man whose body was found outside an Everett home on Tuesday evening has been identified as 23-year-old Luis Verduzco, whose last known address was in South Everett.

Verduzco had been stabbed to death, according to the Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office.

A neighbor reported found Verduzco’s body behind a garage at 22 W. Madison St. about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. It doesn’t appear that anyone lives in the house, and police believe the home is owned by a bank.

Detectives are looking into the likelihood that Verduzco had been stabbed at a different location, according to Everett police.

Anyone with information on the victim or the slaying is asked to call the police Major Crime Unit at 425-257 – 8400 and ask for the Major Crime Unit or as always the TIP LINE at (425) 257- 8450.

0 comments | More in The Blotter | Topics: Everett, Everett Police Department, homicide

UPDATE: 11 stricken in possible haz-mat incident in Everett

A patient being removed from Everest College this morning. (photo courtesy of MyEverettNews.com)

UPDATE: The Everett Fire Department cleared the incident scene around 1 p.m. without finding the source of the noxious odor.

Building management has been advised to keep the building closed until a industrial hygienist can conduct an inspection, according to the City of Everett.

ORIGINAL POST: Eleven people have been hospitalized after complaining of dizziness and headaches following a possible hazardous-materials incident in Everett.

The victims were at Everest College at where the Fire Department responded to an odor complaint, according to City of Everett spokeswoman Kate Reardon. They were taken to Providence Regional Medical Center.

More than 100 people have been evacuated from the building. Fire crews are still searching for the source of the odor, Reardon said.

We’ll post more details once they become available.

0 comments | More in The Blotter | Topics: Everett, Everett Fire Department, haz-mat

Missing Everett woman resurfaces in Florida

A couple months ago we reported that Meara Lynn Nichols had mysteriously disappeared from her Everett home, leaving behind her family and purse.

Well, maybe it wasn’t so mysterious. Her husband, Matthew Nichols, told The Seattle Times in February that she had withdrawn a large amount of money before she disappeared and that the couple had discussed a trial separation.

Nonetheless, Everett police Sgt. Robert Goetz said at the time that police were concerned about the 33-year-old’s whereabouts. “We don’t know if she’s in danger, so we’re erring on the side of caution,” Goetz said.

Turns out Meara Lynn recently resurfaced in Florida after contacting family members, according to The Herald of Everett.

“She has not been talking too much about her reason for leaving,”  Goetz tells the Everett newspaper.

0 comments | More in The Blotter | Topics: Everett, Everett Police Department, missing person

No arrests after explosive materials reportedly found near Mill Creek

The FBI this morning released additional information after explosive materials were reportedly found yesterday in a Snohomish County home.

Bomb units were summoned yesterday afternoon after the FBI and representatives from another police agency spotted an explosive device in a neighborhood near Mill Creek. A Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office spokesman said authorities had been visiting a home in the area as part of an existing investigation when the FBI spotted a suspected explosive device and called in bomb experts to dismantle it.

Neighbors told KOMO-TV they had heard several explosions, and that before each blast, a warning alarm sounded for several seconds.

The FBI this morning said materials were completely removed from the home on 130^th Street Southeast and 26th Avenue Southeast with the owner’s cooperation. The FBI says the public was in no danger. 

No arrests are planned, the FBI says.

Spokeswoman Ayn Sandalo Dietrich says the FBI won’t describe the materials

0 comments | More in The Blotter | Topics: bomb, Everett, FBI

Body of Everett man found in Ohio River

The Associated Press

NEW ALBANY, Ind. -– Authorities in southern Indiana say the body of a man from Everett was found in the Ohio River over the weekend.

Indiana conservation officers say 57-year-old Harry “Glen” Risinger was reported missing April 7 to Louisville, Ky., police.

Floyd County Coroner Leslie Knable tells the News and Tribune that a barge worker spotted the body Saturday morning in the water off the New Albany shore, just across the river from Louisville.

Authorities say an autopsy found Risinger’s death appeared consistent with drowning, but a final determination is awaiting toxicology results.

0 comments | More in General news, The Blotter | Topics: Everett

Some Snohomish Co. funeral burglary property found

The Associated Press

0 comments | More in The Blotter | Topics: burglaries, Everett, funerals