23-year-old Everett soldier has died in Iraq

An Everett soldier has died in Iraq, the Department of Defense announced this evening.

Spc. Vincent G. Kamka, 23, of Everett, died Thursday in Bayji, Iraq. He was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division out of Fort Bragg, N.C., according to a news release. A cause of death was not given.

Seattle

Body found in bay off Pier 66

A body was found floating in Elliott Bay off Pier 66 on Monday afternoon, according to Seattle police.

A witness on a nearby bus called police shortly after 2 p.m., saying a body was floating in the water about 100 yards from the pier, according to Seattle police spokesman Mark Jamieson.

Police, along with the Seattle Fire Department and the U.S. Coast Guard, recovered the body.

No information was available about the person's gender or identity, Jamieson said.

Seattle

Police: Man killed son in self-defense

An 84-year-old man arrested Saturday after the fatal shooting of his 50-year-old son has been released from the King County Jail because Seattle police believe he was acting in self-defense.

Police said that when they arrived at the house in the 4600 block of South Cooper Street about 7:30 p.m., the man walked into the front yard. Officers found his son dead in a bedroom, police said.

The names of the father and son were not released.

Seattle

Woman, 50, found dead in county jail

An inmate at the King County Jail was found dead Monday night, according to Seattle police and a jail official.

A 50-year-old woman, whose identity was not released, was found unresponsive by jail staffers about 7 p.m., said Maj. William Hayes, of the jail.

Staff members initiated CPR and called medics. After the medics arrived, the woman was pronounced dead, Hayes said. "There's no indication of any foul play that I know of," he said.

Seattle

Animal-shelter reforms sought

Responding to a report that cats and dogs are housed in "deplorable" conditions at King County animal shelters, the County Council on Monday called on Executive Ron Sims to make immediate reforms — or consider getting the county out of the shelter business.

"We have an emergency at our animal shelters," Councilmember Julia Patterson, D-SeaTac, said after the council unanimously approved her proposal for action.

An advisory committee created by the council last month called for immediate renovation of animal shelters in Bellevue and Kent. The committee made 47 recommendations, ranging from intake exams for every animal to cleaning protocols aimed at reducing the spread of diseases.

The council called on Sims to develop a facilities plan, reorganize the staff and improve training, insulate animal-control vans and make a other improvements.

Seattle

Transient charged in bar shooting

A 41-year-old transient has been arrested and charged with second-degree assault in the shooting of a bartender at Serafina restaurant during a robbery attempt shortly after 1 a.m. on June 6.

According to charging documents filed Monday in King County Superior Court, Miles Thomas was behind the bar of the restaurant, in the 2000 block of Eastlake Avenue East, when Michael Avinger approached the bar, pointed a gun at him and told him to lie down on the floor

Thomas grabbed Avinger and the two struggled, the charges say. Avinger broke free and fired, striking Thomas in the right bicep, charging documents say.

On Oct. 3 Avinger was found sleeping in a car at Volunteer Park and was arrested.

Walla Walla

Guard thwarts escape attempt

An escape attempt at the Washington State Penitentiary ended when a guard fired a warning shot into the air.

A prison spokeswoman says 29-year-old Wesley Leuthvilay climbed an inner fence during the noon meal Sunday and ran toward the main wall. A tower officer fired a warning shot, and the prisoner stopped running.

Prison spokeswoman Debbie Tracy said Leuthvilay has been at the prison since mid-August, serving a seven-year sentence out of King County.

Seattle

County takes step to raise sales tax

The Metropolitan King County Council took a possible step Monday toward raising the sales tax to pay for services aimed at helping people with mental illness, drug addiction or alcoholism to stay out of jails and emergency rooms.

The council accepted an "action plan" from County Executive Ron Sims that lays out priorities for spending the $48 million that would be raised by increasing the sales tax by one-tenth of a percentage point. No tax proposal has been formally introduced.

Times staff and news services