Murder suspect still in California jail
SNOHOMISH — Jeremy Tod Staeheli, who is accused of shooting and killing Brandt Stewart of Snohomish, is still in California.
His arraignment was scheduled for last week, but officials in the King County prosecuting attorney’s office say he missed it because he has not yet been extradited from California. King County officials say the slow process of extradition is not unusual.
The timeline for transporting Staeheli to Washington state was unknown.
Staeheli confessed to the murder of Stewart, court documents say. Staeheli told police Stewart had a knife, and the shooting was self defense. Stewart was staying in a shed at a Snohomish church.
Stewart, 34, was found by a hiker, lying dead in the snow off a Skykomish logging road, just before Christmas. Stewart had a vial with methamphetamines tucked into his chest pocket and a glass pipe on the ground near his body. Both hands were in his pockets, with a pocket-knife in one of them.
Three units at storage center burn
SNOHOMISH — A dog was found dead but no people were inside the three burned units at Mini Storage in the 700 block of Avenue D, which caught fire on Wednesday, Jan. 15. Fire District 4 was dispatched just after 7 a.m. the day of the fire and was assisted by District 7 and Everett fire departments. Ten vehicles and 27 personnel responded to the incident, which is currently under investigation.
No suspicious circumstances were identified as of Jan. 16.
Fire District 4 estimates $72,000 in damages for the burned units. The fire was put out quickly, leaving seven units undamaged.
New leader for Snohomish County Public Works
EVERETT — County Executive Dave Somers has appointed Kelly Snyder as the county’s public works director. She succeeds Steve Thomsen, who retired in December after 33 years with the county.
Snyder served most recently as an Assistant Vice Chancellor at the University of Washington-Bothell, where she oversaw leading the campus expansion and community development team, managing campus facilities and more. She served the State of Washington as the Director of the Public Works Board within the Department of Commerce where she managed $2.5 billion in funding for infrastructure projects across the state. Before that, she was a co-owner and principal in a civil engineering firm for 13 years.
Snohomish McDonald’s demolition
SNOHOMISH — Permits are cleared and the Snohomish McDonald’s building at 912 Ave. D is on-track for demolition.
“We were told they would start today,” said city planning director Glen Pickus on Jan. 17, in an email response. “But that’s unofficial and they are not required to notify us when they start. All I can say for sure is, I believe it is their plan to start this week.”
The applicant is proposing to demolish the existing 3,521-square-foot McDonald’s restaurant and construct a new 4,586-square-foot restaurant with 46-stall parking lot, landscaping, and associated site improvements.
Everett council president selected
EVERETT — Councilwoman Judy Tuohy was selected by her peers to be the Council President this year by unanimous vote.
The president sets the weekly agenda and acts as moderator during meetings.
Tuohy last had the president’s role in 2017. That year, she worked to expand neighborhood connections by
assigning council members to attend neighborhood meetings on a set schedule.
Her day job is being the CEO of the Schack Art Center downtown.
Six of the council’s seven members have held the president’s seat. Councilman Scott Bader was the council’s president last year.
Employee union contracts extended
EVERETT — The union contracts for the city’s police officers as well as its city employees are extended to 2022. The firefighters’ contract is extended to 2021. The City Council approved the new contracts at its Dec. 31 meeting.
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