Northwest briefs

Missoula man charged with running over, killing girlfriend

A Missoula man is charged with running over his girlfriend with his pickup truck, killing her, during an alcohol-fueled argument in a grocery store parking lot, Missoula County prosecutors said.

Bradley Don Nagel, 53, was charged Monday with deliberate homicide and driving under the influence in the death of Lucille Synek.

Nagel was scheduled to make an initial appearance in Justice Court on Tuesday, where his bond was to be set. He did not have an attorney prior to the hearing, court officials said. The couple were arguing Saturday night after having drinks at a nearby bar, investigators said. Surveillance video showed her shoving him several times, court records said.

Nagel got into his pickup truck and Synek stood in front of it. As Nagel started driving forward, Synek moved to the driver’s side of the pickup truck, charging documents said.

The truck accelerated, the woman fell and the rear tire of the truck drove over her, charging documents said. Synek died at the hospital a short time later.

Nagel told investigators that he “goosed it” and “boom,” “I guess I ran over her by her head,” according to charging documents. He said he thought she would move out of the way and that he didn’t mean to run over her.

Silverton man gets 25 years for child rape

SALEM, Ore. — A Silverton man convicted of raping a child was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Monday. A jury found Mauricio Barba Duran guilty of first-degree rape and sodomy in Polk County Circuit Court following a four-day trial, according to a news release from Polk County District Attorney Aaron Felton.

Duran was acquitted of two counts of first-degree rape and two counts of first-degree sexual abuse. Additional counts of unlawful use of a weapon, coercion, and assault were dismissed before sentencing.

Under Oregon’s Jessica’s Law, Duran was sentenced to 25 years in prison by Judge Monte Campbell and was ordered to register as a sex offender. Jessica’s Law requires a 25-year sentence for those convicted of committing a first-degree sex offense against a child younger than 12.

The child was between the ages of 6 and 11 when the crimes occurred — between 2010 and 2015 — and the child was living in the Sheridan area at the time, prosecutors said. In one instance, the child’s mother caught the abuse occurring in the child’s bedroom, court records show.

Duran was also ordered to a lifetime term of post-prison supervision.

Idaho Board of Examiners approves legal fees in lost ballot initiative case

BOISE — State officials on Tuesday took an initial step to pay $152,000 in legal fees to the winning side after Idaho lost a court challenge to a new law making it harder for voters to get initiatives on the ballot.

The Idaho Board of Examiners comprised of Republican Gov. Brad Little and two other statewide elected officials voted to send the bill to the Constitutional Defense Council for a final OK.

Republican lawmakers earlier this year approved the initiative measure with no Democratic support. Little then signed into law the measure requiring signature-gatherers to get 6 percent of registered voters in each of Idaho’s 35 legislative districts in 18 months.

The Idaho Supreme Court in August rejected the law, saying the legislation was so restrictive it violated the state’s constitution. It also ordered the state to pay Reclaim Idaho’s attorney fees. That ruling caused the ballot initiative process to revert to requiring signatures from 6 percent of registered voters in each of 18 legislative districts in 18 months.

The Constitutional Defense Fund, created in 1995 to defend Idaho’s sovereignty, has paid out more than $3 million in lost court battles over the years and has a current balance of just under $1.3 million.

Man found unresponsive in Seattle jail dies

SEATTLE — A 48-year-old man was found unresponsive in his cell at the King County Jail in downtown Seattle and later died at Harborview Medical Center, according to the Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention.

The King County Medical Examiner’s Office on Monday identified the man as Dustin Rand and said his cause and manner of death are pending the results of toxicology tests, the Seattle Times reported.

Rand was booked into the King County Jail in June and charged with third-degree assault. He was accused of putting a Seattle police officer in a chokehold and biting the finger of a second officer when they responded to a Target store to enforce a trespass order, jail and court records show.