Local News

TACOMA (AP) — A Tacoma man has pleaded not guilty to charges that he drugged his baby by spiking his bottle with an anesthetic called ketamine. Pierce County authorities say 34-year-old Scott Rasmus has been charged with first degree assault of a child and unlawful possession of a firearm. The charges date back to a February incident…

TACOMA (AP) — A drug-smuggling freighter that sank in Tacoma’s Hylebos Waterway 18 months ago has been refloated and is being moved to Seattle in a salvage operation expected to cost at least $1.2 million. The 167-foot Helena Star sank in January 2013 and was slowly spilling 640 gallons of oil and diesel. Crews tried to…

The Associated Press TACOMA  — A former Tacoma high school math teacher has pleaded guilty to having sex with two students and communicating with others about sex. Twenty-five-year-old Meredith Powell pleaded guilty in Pierce County Superior Court on Wednesday to two counts of third degree child rape and one count of communicating with a minor for immoral…

A Tacoma woman accused of shooting a man in the head at a Kent Starbucks on Tuesday was charged today with first-degree attempted murder. Fermina Bartolini Bertos, 24, is being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the King County Jail. Kent police say Bertos and the victim were walking into the Starbucks at Southeast 208th Street and 107th Avenue…

The Associated Press MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK — Ground teams and helicopter crews are spending another day looking for a 64-year-old man missing who went missing during a hike at Mount Rainier. Edwin Birch, of Tacoma, was last seen by his son Saturday as they were hiking on the 93-mile Wonderland Trail, which loops the mountain. The…

A woman has been accused of locking her three young children in a filthy room in their Tacoma home. She’s pleaded not guilty to charges of criminal mistreatment and unlawful imprisonment. Some good news from our Rant & Rave feature: A missing wallet returned. Graduation ceremonies today: The University of Washington and Seattle…

TACOMA (AP) — A Tacoma, Washington, woman accused of locking her three young children in a filthy room has pleaded not guilty to charges of criminal mistreatment and unlawful imprisonment. The News Tribune reports that 26-year-old Tasha Herndon entered her pleas Thursday and was ordered held on $300,000 bail. Her boys — ages 2, 3…

A 16-year-old Tacoma boy who authorities say killed his father and then covered the body with oil, dirt and cat litter has been charged with second-degree murder. According to the Pierce County Prosecutor’s Office, Rylan Salzman, 16, and his father Richard Salzman, 49, had been drinking at the family home on June 6 while the boy’s mother was attending a party. Rylan’s mother…

A Tacoma man who allegedly used weapons including an ax, electrical cords and a walking stick to kill two people and injure his girlfriend last week pleaded not guilty to murder and attempted murder charges today. Aaron Livingston, 38, was charged with two counts of first-degree aggravated murder in connection with the beating deaths of Andrew…

By The News Tribune TACOMA — Two people are dead and a third in the hospital after an assault late Friday in the city’s Hilltop neighborhood. Tacoma police arrested a 37-year old Tacoma man and booked him into Pierce County Jail at 8:45 a.m. Saturday on two charges of first-degree murder and one charge of attempted murder. None…