UPDATED: 8:25 p.m.

A woman was found dead today in a University Place home, and her 9-month-old daughter is missing, the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department said. An AMBER Alert was issued just before 7 p.m. today.

Police are looking for 23-year-old Joseph Lester. He is driving a blue or purple 1992 Chevrolet Caprice with the license plate ADP3753. The car has a loud exhaust system and large rims, the Sheriff’s Department said.

Lester is a 5-foot, 8-inch black male. He weighs about 155 pounds. He has brown eyes and black hair, which he wears in braids.

“At …

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UPDATED at 4:10 p.m.

One woman was injured this afternoon in a house fire in Northeast Tacoma.

The woman was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle and was reportedly in stable condition, Tacoma police officials said.

Tacoma police and firefighters were investigating what sparked the fire inside the garage of the home in the 4000 block of 52nd Street Northeast.

Firefighters were called to the house 12:15 p.m. for a heavily-involved garage fire, Tacoma fire spokesman Joe Meinecke said.

A column of smoke from the fire could be seen from downtown Tacoma.

The blaze appeared to have started in …

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Tacoma police have arrested one man in connection with a deadly shooting Friday night.

Prosecutors have charged Lloyd Robert Jackson, 28, with first-degree murder and unlawful possession of a firearm in the death of Terrance Sand, 42. Jackson is expected to be arraigned this afternoon.

Tacoma police report the man was arrested in Auburn.

Sand was shot and killed about 8 p.m. outside a home in the 3400 block of South Madison Street. Tacoma police had been searching for two men in connection with the slaying.

Charging documents indicate that shortly before his death, Sand, known in that neighborhood as …

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Tacoma police are still looking for two men seen leaving the scene of a fatal shooting last night.

According to police spokesman Mark Fulghum, a Tacoma resident heard gunshots at about 8 p.m. Friday outside his home in the 3400 block of South Madison Street.

The resident looked outside and saw a man lying on the ground and two other men walking away from the scene.

The victim, whom the Pierce County Medical Examiner identified as Terrance Sand, 42, was pronounced dead at Tacoma General Hospital.

Fulghum said Sand died of a single gunshot wound.

According to neighbors, Sand was …

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Nearly 1,000 gallons of jet fuel spilled onto a tarmac at Joint Base Lewis-McChord this morning, but crews cleaned it up before the fuel could contaminate any nearby soil or water, officials said.

Military officials notified the state Department of Ecology about the spill about 6:10 a.m., said Curt Hart, a spokesman for the agency.

An Ecology spill-response team responded to the base and found the fuel contained in a catch basin, Hart said.

Military crews were in the process of cleaning up the spill, he said.

“It didn’t get out into the environment,” Hart said. “We were satisfied with …

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In an effort to combat abuse of prescription drugs, local law enforcement agencies want residents to drop off expired or unwanted pills at several sites Saturday.

The program is part of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration’s National Drug Take Back initiative, which encourages people to drop off medication anonymously and for free.

Residents can discard of pills and controlled substances between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Insulin, illegal drugs, syringes and medical waste will not be accepted.

Flushing unwanted medication down the toilet or throwing it away can pose health and safety risks, according to the DEA.

“Prescription drug abuse …

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An outside investigation of allegations of improper conduct by Fife police leaders released today concludes all the accusations are either unfounded or not sustained.

The allegations included accusations of racial discrimination in the Fife Police Department, at least one sexual relationship inside the police force, and several improper actions by the police chief.

Police Chief Brad Blackburn and the two other members of the department’s command staff were accused in the complaints.

The complaints made by two Fife police officers include an accusation that Blackburn “engaged in inappropriate relationships with young adult offenders.”

An outside investigation by the Prothman Co. in Issaquah concluded the allegation that Blackburn had inappropriate relationships with the offenders was “not sustained.”

The report also concluded Blackburn and the two other command staff members did not discriminate or retaliate in the denial of bilingual pay to two police officers and on other matters.

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Kent police arrested a 29-year-old man Wednesday night in connection with a shooting that injured another man.

The shooting occurred Tuesday night in the parking lot of American Casino. Responding officers found a man suffering from a gunshot wound to the torso.

The victim was taken to Harborview Medical Center, where he is listed in stable condition.

Detectives are still trying to determine what led up to the shooting.