Feds raid house, find drug lab

Federal agents raided a North Seattle house early Thursday and found marijuana plants and a drug lab, said Drug Enforcement Agency spokesman Jeff Eig.

One man was arrested on federal charges, Eig said.

Seattle firefighters were called to the house, in the 500 block of North 101st Street, and remained at the house throughout the day because drug labs can explode or expose people to hazardous chemicals, Eig said.

He said the lab may have been used to make MDMA, or Ecstasy.

Olympia

Brokerage firm to pay restitution

Insurance brokerage firm Aon will pay $2.4 million in restitution to more than 9,500 Washington insurance clients to settle allegations of anti-competitive practices.

Washington policyholders are eligible for amounts ranging from about $71,000 to about $10, depending on the size of the premiums they paid, said Bill Ripple, a spokesman for the state Insurance Commissioner's Office.

The agreement stems from a 2004 investigation by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, who charged that a number of national brokerages made improper payments, rigged bids and allowed anti-competitive activities that harmed policyholders.

Aon, based in Chicago, agreed to pay a total of $190 million as part of a national agreement with New York officials. Aon doesn't admit or deny the allegations. The settlement covers the period from Jan. 1, 2001, to Dec. 31, 2004. Clients accepting the settlement must agree to forfeit the right to pursue any legal claims against Aon.

Animal-parts spill closes I-5 lanes

Two northbound lanes of Interstate 5 were closed at 56th Street in Tacoma for an hour and a half Thursday after a semi-truck lost a load of animal parts bound for a rendering factory.

A Department of Transportation crew cleared the road, and state troopers cited the driver, from High Land Transportation, $194 for losing the load.

Man who was killed by police is ID'd

The Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office on Thursday identified Larry A. Peterson as the 54-year-old man who was fatally shot by Pierce County sheriff's deputies Wednesday night near Puyallup.

Peterson died from two gunshot wounds, an investigator said.

Deputies were called to Peterson's home on 134th Street Court East because he was firing a handgun into the air, said sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer. When he fired two rounds at deputies, they fired back.

Seattle

Man hurt in crash dies from injuries

A man who drove the wrong way on Interstate 5 and crashed in downtown Seattle on May 28 has died. The King County Medical Examiner's Office said Christian Montegut, 39, of Redmond, died Tuesday from head injuries at Seattle's Harborview Medical Center.

The State Patrol said Montegut was driving north in the southbound lanes of I-5 when he hit a concrete barrier near the Mercer Street exit at 3:40 a.m. He was not wearing a seat belt.

Seattle Times staff and news services