Local News

Bats? Spiders? Giant snails? Mysterious human skulls? No, it’s not Halloween. But it is a different kind of holiday, if you will: the triumphant return of the offbeat-news roundup, after a week’s hiatus. To celebrate, I give you The Weird News Double-Week Double Whammy! Two weeks’ worth of weirdness, jam-packed into one easy-to-digest list.

The Associated Press SPOKANE, Wash. — A man who led Washington state troopers on a high-speed chase got away Wednesday night when he fled on foot and apparently jumped in the Spokane River. KXLY reports a trooper tried to pull over a pickup truck for reckless driving and the driver led officers on a chase that stopped…

A King County sheriff’s deputy accused of helping his estranged wife work as a prostitute, stealing department ammunition and illegally delivering testosterone pleaded not guilty this morning in King County Superior Court. During the arraignment for Deputy Darrion Keith Holiwell, defense attorney Kristine Costello argued that his bail be lowered to $50,000. But King County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Gary Ernsdorff, in…

This wasn’t the most, ahem, appetizing week of news… but it was definitely a weird one. Read on for some of the most bizarre stories published this week on seattletimes.com.

A former Kent City council member pleaded guilty today to seven counts of first-degree theft and mortgage fraud for stealing nearly $300,000 from his mother’s bank account to shore up his failing business and fund vacations. Kenneth D. Sharp, 67, could face more than 3 1/2 years in prison when he is sentenced June 20. However, prosecutors…

A suspected meat thief was arrested Wednesday night after he was spotted carting around a shopping cart full of stolen beef, Seattle police said. Around 11:15 p.m., an officer was driving down Rainier Avenue near South McClellan Street when he spotted a 50-year-old man pushing a shopping cart full of meat down the street, police said….

A Seattle man faces more than 16 years in prison after he was convicted of stealing 4.3 miles of copper wiring from the Sound Transit light-rail system in what is believed to be the biggest metal-theft case in state history. A King County jury last week convicted Donald Turpin, 55, of second-degree burglary; first-degree theft with…

Seattle police are looking for the man who stole a toilet tank from a West Seattle sandwich shop Sunday night. Police said the man and his family walked into the Subway sandwich shop in the 4700 block of 42nd Avenue Southwest around 7:45 p.m. and ordered food. While employees were preparing the family’s meal, the man paid a visit to…

Renton police say the man in this surveillance photo is suspected of stealing cash from a parked armored car. The car was parked at 200 S. Third St. in Renton about 11:08 a.m. Thursday when the driver saw a man walking away from the back of the vehicle, police said. It was later discovered that cash…

A 13-year-old boy was arrested this afternoon after he stole a gun from his grandfather’s home, sparking a school lockdown, police said. About 9:30 this morning, a woman called to report that her 13-year old grandson had stolen a loaded antique German Luger and left the house. Officers responded to the area and searched for the teen. Police also placed nearby Eckstein Middle School…