Blotter Fodder

Posted: Sunday, Mar 23, 2008 - 07:09:48 pm PDT
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Marc Stewart

Wink, wink leads to big stink

The wink is one of my least favorite facial expressions.

Winks are open to interpretation. There's the harmless wink, the romantic wink and the naughty wink.

I can't tell them apart, and I am not alone in that regard.

To show the dangers of winking, here's an example of winking gone bad from a Coeur d'Alene police report.

Patricia went to the Shore Lounge with her husband and some friends on March 16 for an evening of fun.

Upon arriving at the night club, she saw her friend, Chad, was there with his girlfriend.

They all sat down to next to each other and alcohol started flowing.

Patricia and Chad's gal pal don't like each other one bit. They're not on speaking terms and Patricia's friendship with Chad isn't as strong as used to be.

To keep things pleasant, Chad and Patricia have devised a "winking" system they use to exchange "hellos."

Chad's girlfriend saw the wink and went over the brink. She started yelling, "Hellloooo" at Pat.

Patricia informed the woman that she wasn't going to be speaking or winking to her anytime soon. Then, Chad's main squeeze reached over Chad's shoulder's and allegedly hit Patricia with a beer bottle in the forehead a couple of times.

Before things got really ugly, Chad and others broke up the fight.

When it was all over, Patricia had a couple of big bruises on her forehead and the suspect had left the building. The investigation continues.

Think before you wink, the life you save may be your own.

• Lost and found

Idaho State Police Capt. Clark Rollins assured me that Andrew Gosser hadn't perished in the woods in the Hayden Creek area after he evaded capture on March 13.

Rollins was sure the 23-year-old Hayden man was safe and sound.

Turns out, he was right.

Kootenai County Sheriff deputies arrested Andrew Gosser at his mother's house last week.

Gosser led police on a high-speed chase after they tried to arrest him on an outstanding warrant for failure to appear in court to answer to domestic battery charges.

Now, he's facing prison time.

Gosser's aunt said her nephew was "pretty beat up" when he came out of the woods.

She said Andrew survived the freezing temperatures by staying the night in a bear cave.

It's a good thing North Idaho bears snowbird in Arizona.

• Happy trails

I am going to miss Press photographer Jason Hunt who ended an eight and a half-year career at the paper last week to chase a new dream.

Jason has been hired by the Post Falls Police Department. He'll be slapping handcuffs on bad guys instead of trying to snap their picture.

He's one of the best photographers in the business and has the awards to prove it.

Jason's talent as a photojournalist is only surpassed by his character and integrity.

Our loss is the community's gain.

Marc Stewart is a staff writer for the Coeur d'Alene Press. He can be reached at 664-8176 ext. 2010.