Officer fatally shoots bank-heist suspect

A Des Moines police officer shot and killed a suspected bank robber who charged him after being hit with a Taser Friday evening.

About 5:30 p.m., a man about 40 years old robbed the Key Bank at 23250 Pacific Highway South in Kent, according to Kent police. About 30 minutes later, a man with a similar description robbed a Bank of America at 707 S. 227th St. in Des Moines.

A citizen followed the man as he ran away, then pointed him out to the Des Moines officer. The officer confronted the suspect, then shot the man with a Taser when he didn't surrender, Kent police said. Witnesses told police the suspect then charged at the officer, who shot the suspect with his handgun.

The man was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where he was pronounced dead.

The Des Moines officer, a 24-year veteran, was placed on administrative leave while the shooting is investigated, which is standard department policy.

Kent police said the FBI notified them Friday that the man was also a suspect in two other bank robberies in Des Moines and Kent this week.

The names of the suspect and officer were not released Friday.

Everett

Candidate decries charge against her

A candidate for Everett City Council and active foe of illegal immigration was charged with theft after walking from a Quality Food Center (QFC) into an adjoining Starbucks with unpaid merchandise in hand.

Shawna Forde, founder of Minutemen American Defense, a local group affiliated with the national Minuteman Project, said Friday that the charges filed against her in February are "ridiculous."

Forde said she was shopping at the QFC at Broadway and 26th Street on Jan. 31 when she saw a friend at the Starbucks, which can be accessed from inside the grocery store. She walked over to greet her friend and crossed the store's limits with a carton of chocolate milk in her hand. A worker from QFC stopped her and management called police.

Forde was charged with theft, according to court documents. She has pleaded not guilty.

Everett's city attorney will not handle the case and has requested that Mount Vernon's city attorney take over, according to court documents.

The QFC manager on Friday referred questions to the corporate office. Officials there could not be reached for comment Friday.

Forde said she believes the charges will be dismissed.

"It can be in the file of the most ridiculous," Forde said.

Olympia

42-cent surcharge on liquor to end

A 42-cent state surcharge on liquor will end on July 1.

The Washington Legislature placed the surcharge on spirits in 2005 to raise money, but the last session did not continue the surcharge.

According to the State Liquor Control Board, some consumers won't see a drop in prices. A recent analysis by the board found consumers will see a savings in 26 percent of liquor sold, but 74 percent will cost the same or even more.

The board does not control the base price of alcohol, which is set by manufacturers.

Waldport, Ore.

Body of woman found in hotel room

A Bainbridge Island woman who made international headlines after fleeing the United States with her son in the midst of a custody battle was found dead of apparent suicide.

The body of Juliette Gilbert, 39, was found Thursday in a hotel room in the Oregon coastal city of Waldport.

Gilbert left the United States in 2002 with her son, Sky. Both were found in New Zealand three years later. Gilbert was arrested and returned to the United States.

In 2005, she was sentenced in Kitsap County Superior Court to six months in jail.

Seattle

Man, 20, arrested in fatal shooting

Seattle police have arrested a Federal Way man for the shooting death of a 25-year-old man in the 2700 block of Yesler Way in the Leschi neighborhood Wednesday.

Friday, police and SWAT officers arrested the 20-year-old suspect, who was booked into the King County Jail for investigation of homicide. The Seattle Times generally does not name criminal suspects until they are charged.

Federal Way

Southbound I-5 to close late Monday

Southbound Interstate 5 will be shut down Monday night through Federal Way while traffic sensors are installed in the roadway.

A single lane will close at 8 p.m., a second lane at 9 p.m., a third lane at 11 p.m. and the final lane at midnight.

The state will begin reopening the freeway at 5 a.m. Tuesday.

Seattle Times staff and news services