FBI gets 200 tips over ferry photo

Seattle

The FBI says it has received more than 200 leads and tips after the publication of a photograph of two men seen acting suspiciously on several Washington state ferries.

While the men have not been identified, Special Agent Larry Carr said Thursday that the bureau is hopeful "that we'll be able to have this matter resolved soon." Carr declined to say more.

The FBI earlier this week released two photographs of the men taken last month aboard an unidentified Puget Sound ferry.

The photos were shot by the boat's captain after complaints that the men were acting strangely.

FBI analysts concluded the same men were seen on between four and six different ferries.

Fort Lewis

4 soldiers killed in Iraq identified

The Army has identified the four Fort Lewis soldiers killed in a helicopter crash in Iraq Wednesday.

The four men were Capt. Corry P. Tyler, 29, of Georgia; Chief Warrant Officer Paul J. Flynn, 28, of Whitsett, N.C.; Sgt. Matthew L. Tallman, 30, of Groveland, Calif.; and Spc. Rickey L. Bell, 21, of Caruthersville, Mo. They were assigned to the 4th Squadron, 6th U.S. Air Cavalry Regiment based at Fort Lewis.

The four men were the pilot, co-pilot and crew of the Black Hawk helicopter that crashed in northern Iraq Wednesday.

Seattle

Bank-robbery suspect charged

A suspect who was subdued by a bodybuilder during a bank robbery was charged Thursday in U.S. District Court.

The robbery occurred Saturday at Banner Bank in Lynnwood.

Sporting a black eye and walking gingerly, Chadwick Asheim was informed of the charges during his initial appearance before Magistrate Judge Mary Alice Theiler.

The FBI thinks the suspect may be the robber dubbed the "Old School Bandit" because of his tendency to wear bandannas in a string of recent bank heists in the region.

The FBI has said it believes Asheim may be responsible for as many as nine recent bank robberies in the region.

Seattle

Woman raped; 2 men arrested

Seattle police are investigating a rape that occurred in the parking lot of a Sodo-area restaurant shortly before 4 p.m. Thursday.

Two men have been arrested.

Four employees of a restaurant in the 3300 block of Fourth Avenue South walked into the parking lot and saw two men near Dumpsters acting suspiciously, police spokesman Mark Jamieson said.

When they approached they saw that one of the men was assaulting a woman while the other was standing guard.

The employees chased the men off and called 911. Police arrested the men a short time later.

The victim was transported to Harborview Medical Center.

Renton

Strip-mall fire destroys businesses

Four businesses in a strip mall in downtown Renton were destroyed by a three-alarm fire early Thursday morning.

Investigators think the fire started in a nail salon just after 4 a.m. in the mall in the 300 block of Rainier Avenue South. The salon was destroyed as well as Panda Express, Hemp Hill Chiropractic and Just Parrots.

Renton Fire Department firefighters rescued nine birds in cages from the Just Parrots pet store before the building was engulfed in flames.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Seattle Times staff and news services