Briefs April 28, 2010
Two men arrested for Super 1 robbery
Two men have been arrested in connection with a robbery that took place Oct. 17, 2009, at Super 1 Foods in Hayden.
The Kootenai County Sheriff's Department said a tip led to Kalispell, Mont., where a subsequent multi-agency investigation identified the two suspects.
Philip Paul-Richard Luedcke, 22, Kalispell, was arrested Tuesday, April 20, in Coeur d'Alene by a KCSD member of the North Idaho Violent Crimes Task Force. He is charged with one count of robbery and being held at the Kootenai County jail. Bail is set at $75,000.
The other suspect, Nathan Wayne Hunt, 19, Kalispell, was arrested Monday in Kalispell on a warrant for one count of robbery, with a bond of $75,000.
Hunt is being held at the Flathead County Jail as a fugitive from justice, pending extradition on the warrant.
Detectives are continuing to investigate to determine if the two suspects are linked to other robberies in the area.
Gualda sought on Kootenai warrant
The North Idaho Violent Crimes Task Force is seeking information leading to the apprehension of Nicholas Reed Gualda, aka Nicholas Yonce.
Gualda, 21, is being sought based on a Kootenai County warrant charging him with failure to appear on manufacturing/delivery of a controlled substance charges. This is a $50,000 U.S. extradition warrant.
Gualda is a white male adult 5 feet, 7 inches tall, 145 pounds with hazel eyes and black hair. He was last known to be living in the Coeur d'Alene area.
Anyone with information regarding Gualda or other fugitives being sought for violent crimes should call the task force at (208) 665-1471. The identity of callers will remain confidential and reward money is available.
Wolfinger warns
of check scams
Kootenai County Sheriff's Maj. Ben Wolfinger has a little advice for those who receive notices in the mail claiming they won a sweepstakes that they never entered.
They didn't win.
"Unfortunately, some people are sucked into these types of scams on a regular basis," he wrote in an e-mail response to The Press.
A Post Falls resident received such a letter recently that said she was the winner of $250,000.
"Enclosed also is the check amount of $4,855 to enable you to pay the applicable taxes of $2,970. You will receive the balance of your winning after the applicable taxes are paid," the letter said.
The letter and the check both looked official and might fool some people.
Wolfinger said he encourages anyone who receives such notifications they have won money should call the company, "not the number supplied with the document, but one looked up through directory assistance, to verify any mailings."
Pretrial conference postponed in?census threat case
COEUR d'ALENE -
The pretrial conference for the St. Maries man accused of firing his gun near a U.S. Census worker who was trying to deliver the man his questionnaire in March has been rescheduled.
Richard L. Powell, 54, faces up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine for exhibition of a deadly weapon, a misdemeanor offense.
The conference has been set for 11 a.m. June 21 at the Benewah County Courthouse, according to court officials. It was originally scheduled for April 26.
The Census worker alleges he was trying to deliver Powell the population-counting questionnaire on the afternoon of March 3, when Powell told the worker to get off his Powell Road property near St. Maries.
Powell then went into his residence and returned with a shotgun, and fired the gun in the air, according to the Benewah County Prosecutor's Office.
The Census worker waited a few days before reporting the alleged crime to the sheriff's office, and Powell was cited a week later.