Seattle man charged in hit-and-run death

By Seattle Times staff

A 21-year-old Seattle man was charged today with three felony counts in connection with the Monday hit-and-run death of a 92-year-old man on Rainier Avenue South.

Jeffrey Brouse was charged with vehicular homicide, hit-and-run and vehicle theft.

Police say that Brouse stole a 2004 GMC Envoy from his uncle and collided with Salvatore Vito Covello's vehicle at Rainier Avenue South and South Holly Street, according to charging documents filed in King County Superior Court.

Covello, who was returning home after visiting a nearby senior center, died at the scene. Brouse ran from the stolen vehicle to his uncle's house nearby and was arrested, court papers said. Police say that Brouse had a breath-alcohol content higher than the legal limit of 0.08.

Pre-screened border crosser busted for smuggling pot

By HECTOR CASTRO
P-I REPORTER

Border Patrol agents arrested a man this week who was signed up for the Nexus program, an electronic pass program in which members submit to background checks in return for a speedier crossing at the border.

Despite that extra layer of security, the 41-year-old Lacey man was found with 4.4 pounds of what authorities said was high grade marijuana in the cargo area of his 1999 Jeep Cherokee.

Officials with U.S. Customs and Border Protection said that on Sunday night, the man was crossing the border into the United States and was selected for an intense search after entering one of the lanes set aside for people in the Nexus program. Authorities did not say why the man was selected to be searched.

But during the ensuing inspection, a box was found in the vehicle. When officers opened it, they allegedly found four sealed packages of marijuana, packed with coffee grounds. They immediately arrested the driver.

Nexus began in June 2002 and was meant to give people who cross the border frequently a way of avoiding the long lines at the U.S.-Candadian border. Participants undergo a background screening and are then issued a card with an embedded radio transponder. The drivers can wave the card at a receiver, which allows border agents to view the person's background information and photo.

Participants are generally considered to be low-risk travelers.

Suspect in high speed police chase had child on his lap

By BERNARD CHOI / KING 5 News

MOUNTLAKE TERRACE, Wash. – A 19-month-old child was recovered safely after being caught in the middle of a high speed police chase with her father Saturday afternoon.

That chase reached speeds of 100 miles per hour down I-5 south of Mountlake Terrace. Police said the baby's father held the child on his lap the whole way.

He was arrested Saturday afternoon and is likely to be charged with eluding police and endangering a child.

Police say the incident started in a Mountlake Terrace Park, where they were called to help a baby having seizures.

"The individual refused to comply with officer's commands to hand over the child and surrender himself," said Sgt. Craig McCaul, of Mountlake Terrace Police.

Police say the man, who had outstanding warrants, got into his car with child on lap and raced down I-5, weaving through traffic.

"All the while the 19-month-old child is in the lap of the gentleman," McCaul said.

Detectives tracked down the father at a Lake City apartment, and he led police on a foot chase for several blocks before he was arrested.

Kitsap County WA man arrested twice in 1 day for drunk driving

A 48-year-old Kitsap County man was arrested twice in the same day by State Patrol troopers for drunken driving.

The Seabeck man's arrest on Friday night was his fifth drunken-driving arrest. He was found to have a blood-alcohol level of more than four times the legal limit.

The State Patrol says the man also was arrested on Friday morning, when he had a blood-alcohol level of nearly five times the legal limit.