Pierce County law enforcement officers will be searching for suspected drunken drivers and looking closely at teenagers behind the wheel Saturday night along Highway 512 and State Route 7.

The officers will be out in force as part of the Tacoma-Pierce County DUI Task Force’s monthly emphasis patrol.

They’ll look for drivers impaired by alcohol or drugs and they’ll stop aggressive drivers.

The public is cautioned to move out of the way of a driver engaged in risky or dangerous driving. Calls to 9-1-1 pinpointing the location, direction, color, make and model of a car headed

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Jurors left the County-City Building for the weekend just before 3 p.m. Friday.

They were scheduled to deliberate until 4 p.m., which left journalists hanging around outside Judge Linda Lee’s courtroom to believe jurors have reached a decision but want to sleep on it.

I’m planning to be at the courthouse first thing Monday, just in case. If I were a betting man, I’d put my money on a verdict coming in about 10 a.m.

Adam was heading back to the office from the courthouse around 3:30 p.m. and called to report there are police and fire engines in the area of South 11th Street and Sprague Avenue.

He thought we should make a call on that.

Tacoma fire reports there are power lines on the grounds, sparking. No clue how they down on the ground.

A reader e-mailed this query Wednesday …

Anyone know what was going on today around 2:30 pm (+/- 15 minutes) on 72nd St & Hosmer? A school bus was seen pulled over, and blocked in, by 3 Tacoma Police cruisers with officers aboard the bus. Blocked, ala “COPS”, as if they didn’t want it to be able to make a getaway. It just seemed odd…

And here is my response …

The Tacoma Police Department reports that officers were responding to a report of a student on the bus with a gun. Officers contacted a 13-year-old

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The jury foreman sent three questions to Judge Linda Lee this morning, the first one only a half hour after jurors convened for the day.

They wanted to know:

&bull More information about Dominick Maldonado’s previous criminal convictions.

&bull Whether they could get a legal definition of “deadly force.”

&bull If they could review the transcribed testimony of 13-year-old Phi-ho Phan, who was one of four people held hostage by Maldonado in the Sam Goody store. They apparently were looking for information on “deadly force” in there, too.

Judge Linda Lee, after consulting with

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There will be two charity events involving local cops and firefighters this weekend.

On Saturday, Federal Way police officers will be looking for tips at the 2007 “Tip-A-Cop” event at Red Robin in Federal Way. The restaurant also will have a “jail and bail” opportunity for patrons interested in having their picture taken in a police car with a uniformed officer.

The event raises money for the Special Olympics Wahington. The event is from noon to 8 p.m.

Pierce County officers will be participating in the Tip A Cop fundraiser at the Red Robin on Steele Street

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A Pierce County jury of six men and six women got the case against accused Tacoma Mall shooter Dominick S. Maldonado at 2:43 p.m. today, following nine days of testimony from more than 40 witnesses.

Jurors plan to deliberate until about 4 p.m. today.

If need be, they’ll return to the County-City Building on Friday.

I’ve got to be back in court in a couple of minutes, but here’s a quick synopsis of what’s going on in Dominick Maldonado’s trial.

Judge Linda Lee spent nearly an hour reading the jury instructions to jurors this morning. There’s more than 50 instructions, so it took a while. They include some language that will allow the jury to consider the lesser charges of second-degree assault and attempted second-degree murder on some counts.

Deputy prosecutor Phil Sorensen then gave the state’s closing argument. My write-up of the highlights should be on the home page in a couple

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