Container ship leaks toxic matter

A container ship that had been leaking a corrosive substance arrived at the Port of Seattle Terminal 25 last night, prompting a response from the U.S. Coast Guard, the Seattle Fire Department and a hazardous-materials cleanup company.

The substance was later determined to be a phosphoric acid-based cleaning solution, for use in pipes on cruise ships, Coast Guard Lt. Greg Crettol said. The substance didn't leak into the water.

The Maui, owned and operated by Matson Navigation Co., was en route from Honolulu when crew members noticed a substance leaking from a container that was labeled flammable and corrosive. They reported the leak to the Coast Guard and arranged for the Seattle Fire Department and Phillips Services to meet them at the port.

When the ship arrived at 9:30 p.m., the container was no longer leaking, said Crettol. The container was immediately unloaded and placed downwind on the north side of the terminal. The Coast Guard will continue to investigate, Crettol said.

Police seek man who robbed bank

Lynnwood police are asking for the public's help in finding a man who they say robbed a Frontier Bank branch last Monday.

The suspect, a 67-year-old Mountlake Terrace man, has a terminal illness, possibly with only months to live, said Shannon Sessions, Lynnwood police spokeswoman.

The suspect, described as white and 5 feet 9 inches tall, entered the bank branch at 212th Street Southwest and Highway 99 and told a teller to give him money. He indicated that he had a gun, though the weapon wasn't actually seen, according to a police news release.

Anyone with information should call 911 or Lynnwood police Detective Jerry Rittgarn at 425-744-6924.

Man gets 10 years in infant's injury

An Enumclaw man who was accused of severely injuring his girlfriend's infant daughter was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison yesterday.

Joshua B.J. Folk, 19, pleaded guilty in King County Superior Court last month to first-degree assault. Prosecutors said he was annoyed by the 7-month-old's cries, so he picked her up by both arms and swung her around and slammed her down several times. Physicians found that the child had nearly a dozen broken bones, prosecutors said.

The baby's mother was not charged with a crime in connection with the injuries.

Seattle

6-month sentence for sexual abuse

A 38-year-old man who pleaded guilty to two counts of child sexual abuse for sexually molesting several children was given a six-month sentence and ordered into offender treatment.

Kenneth Mark Bell was accused of raping or molesting at least three children between the ages of 12 and 15 during the mid-1990s, when he worked as a counselor at a children's social-service agency in North Seattle.

In exchange for Bell's guilty pleas, prosecutors agreed to recommend that Bell be sentenced under the state's Sex Offender Sentencing Alternative, which means he would spend six months in jail followed by two years in an intensive sex-offender treatment program. If Bell fails to complete the treatment, King County prosecutors said, he faces 13 years in prison.

Times staff and news services