A Spokane man arrested at gunpoint after a police chase three weeks ago was picked up again Tuesday morning after another chase with law enforcement.

 A profusely sweaty Michael S. Wheeler, 38, was taken to a hospital after he told a sheriff's deputy he had eaten an unknown amount of cocaine when he was arrested near Argonne and Bruce roads, according to the Spokane County Sheriff's Office.

Deputy Ryan Truman tried to stop Wheeler after spotting he and his passenger “frantically” moving and reaching under the front seats when he approached their parked Jeep Cherokee just north of Hastings Road about 4:30 a.m.

Truman noted a damaged steering column and a punched ignition with a screwdriver sitting on the vehicle's center console. Dispatch reported the car was stolen, and Truman ordered an already “very agitated” Wheeler and passenger Jamie Burdeau, 22, out of the vehicle, the sheriff's office said.

Wheeler instead put the Jeep in reverse and struck a shed, fence and a “junk car” as he fled, officials say. Truman and other deputies found the Jeep abandoned in the area of 3rd Avenue and Railroad Street in Mead. Burdeau was spotted walking near the vehicle and told deputies Wheeler had run east. She later said she and Wheeler had been waiting for a meth dealer when Truman approached them, the sheriff's office said.

A Spokane police K-9 found Wheeler's gray hooded sweatshirt near the Jeep.  Patrol officers found Wheeler at Argonne and Bruce roads, where he was arrested for possession of a stolen vehicle and felony eluding. Burdeau was arrested on a charge of possession of a stolen vehicle.

Wheeler also faces a third-degree assault charge for allegedly striking a security guard at Holy Family Hospital while running from sheriff's deputies. Deputies said Wheeler ran from them after saying “Have you ever been to jail? It sucks,” according to court records. Wheeler was shocked with a Taser as he struggled to get away from the deputies.

Wheeler was arrested May 3 after a high-speed chase with a state wildlife officer in a stolen car while high on methamphetamine, according to court documents. He was released from jail when prosecutors didn't file charges within three days.

Wheeler also was wanted by Crime Stoppers when he rammed a sheriff’s patrol car in December 2010 while successfully eluding a deputy. Read more here.

A Spokane man told of his car's stolen status after a police chase Saturday replied that he “kind of figured that,” officers say.

Tyson G. Blimka 31, is accused of fleeing police in the area of Euclid Avenue and Lee Street in a black Ford Escort with Idaho plates Saturday about 3:20 p.m. Police tried to pull him over after learning the car had been reported stolen on Friday from the 800 block of West Cleveland and likely had switched license plates.

Police pursued Blimka until the engine of the car appeared to quit and the vehicle stopped in the middle of Carlisle.

Blimka told officers he got the vehicle from a man named Brian, police say. He said he knew police were trying to stop him but that the accelerator on the car stuck, according to court documents.

Blimka was booked into jail on charges of possession of a stolen motor vehicle and attempting to elude police.
  

A juvenile was arrested for felony eluding police after a chase in Spokane Valley this morning.

The boy, whose age was not released, was speeding through a parking lot in the area of East Sprague Avenue and North Pines Road about 2 a.m. when sheriff's deputy Jason Karnitz followed him and observed several other traffic violations, according to the Spokane County Sheriff's Office.

Karnitz tried to stop the car near Pines and Valleyway Road, but the driver fled on Valleyway. Karntiz terminated the pursuit near Valleyway and Adams Road, but the boy continued speeding and crashed into a fence at the intersection.

The boy ran east, but a sheriff's K-9, Gordy, found him hiding under brush nearby. He told Karntiz he was “walking home from work, heard all the sirens and decided to hide because he was scared, the sheriff's office said.
  

A Spokane man with a history of fleeing police led a state wildlife officer on a chase in a stolen car while high on methamphetamine recently.

Michael S. Wheeler, 38, remains jailed on stolen car and eluding police chases after he was arrested at gunpoint Thursday after a high-speed chase that began in the area of 36900 Valley Road.

Fish and Wildlife Sgt. Daniel Rahn was in the area when he noticed a 1986 Doge pickup parked in his neighbor's driveway.

Rahn didn't recognize the truck and watched as the driver approached a parked trailer. The driver told Rahn he was looking for copper wire when stopped, but he soon sped way and a chase ensued.

Rahn ended the chase because of public safety concerns, but a sheriff's deputy was able to stop Wheeler at gunpoint on Deer Creek Road near Elk-Chattaroy after Wheeler lost control of the truck while trying to avoid a spike strip.

Wheeler told police he had taken methamphetamine earlier that day, according to court documents. He said he didn't know the truck was stolen. Police say the truck was stolen that day from a home on Sherman Road in Deer Park.

Wheeler had a Department of Corrections warrant for escape. He has several felony convictions that prohibit from possessing weapons, so he could face another felony charge for a rifle found in the truck.

Wheeler was wanted by Crime Stoppers when he rammed a sheriff’s patrol car in December 2010 while successfully eluding a deputy. Read more here.

A 17-year-old boy in a stolen van was arrested for drunken driving after running into a fast food restaurant, then disabling his front tires by running over a curb.

The boy also faces charges of attempting to elude police, possession of a stolen vehicle, hit and run, possession of marijuana and driving while license suspended after deputies were dispatched to a van driving recklessly Saturday about 7:30 a.m. in the area of East Bigelow Gulch Road and North Argonne Road, according to the Spokane County Sheriff's Office.

Witnesses called 911 to report the van, and sheriff's Deputy Matt Spink caught up with near Highway 2 and Day-Mt. Spokane Road.

Spink followed the van and was told by dispatchers that it had just run into the Zip Trip nearby, according to the sheriff's office. He tried to stop the van, but it sped away before the boy drove it over a curb near Lane Park and Chesapeake Road, which disabled the front tires.

Spink arrested the boy. The owner of the van said he'd parked it in front of his home about 11 p.m. the night before and did not know the boy or that his van had been stolen.
  

Watch me talk about the story in the video above with KHQ's Dave Cotton.

A homeowner says his surveillance video brings into question the official account of why law enforcement shot and killed a North Idaho fugitive three weeks ago, though police warn against drawing too many conclusions from the footage because it captures just a portion of the chaotic 20-minute chase and final encounter.

Read the rest of my story here.

Past coverage:

March 12: Man killed by Post Fall police identified

A sheriff deputy's attempted traffic stop led to a chase with a stolen truck Sunday night.

The driver and his passenger fled the truck near Haven Street after city police officers disabled its front and rear passenger tires at the intersection of North Market Street and East Euclid Avenue.

Suspect Gary A. Patterson, Jr., 34, was arrested near the truck and admitted he was a passenger, according to the Spokane County Sheriff's Office.

Sheriff's K-9 Brax found the suspected driver Kyle A. Costello, 26, hiding on top of a six-foot tall roof.

Deputy Shawn Audie had been pursuing the truck since trying to pull it over for a defective taillight near East Francis Avenue and Market about 10:15 p.m. Dispatchers told him the truck had been stolen in Spokane earlier that day.

Audie terminated the pursuit when the truck continued to travel recklessly with sparks flying from the front and rare passenger tire rims. He thought he saw a crash on Haven Street but arrived to see Patterson and Costello running from the stolen truck. There was no crash.

The men were booked into jail for possession of a stolen vehicle. Costello also faces a felony eluding charge.

Patterson was arrested about a month ago on suspicion of burglary after he requested - and was given - a bottle of wine when he unlawfully entered a home at at 828 E. Joseph Ave., allegedly.

A fugitive shot to death by police in North Idaho had material for changing his identity in his vehicle, as well as weapons, drug paraphernalia and an active police scanner.

 The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department announced the discovery Wednesday as part of its ongoing investigation into the death of Justin Earl Nicholas Todd, 33.

Todd died early Monday after he was shot by multiple Post Falls police officers following a 20-minute chase that ended in a residential area in west Hayden, Idaho.

Todd was shot after he struck an Idaho State Police trooper with his car and knocked him to the ground. The trooper suffered minor injuries.

Todd, a longtime felon, was wanted on a warrant for eluding police when his car triggered an alert system on Interstate 90 that detects stolen vehicles and fugitives.

Investigators said Wednesday that Todd's car had recently been painted from blue to white. They found six cans of black spray paint in the car that indicated Todd may have planned to paint it again. They also found a brass knuckles/stun gun combination weapons, a knife, three cell phones along with the paraphernalia and scanner.

Investigators interviewed all officers involved in the incident Wednesday. The Kootenai County Prosecutor's Office will decide on charges once a report is submitted.

A North Idaho man with an extensive criminal history was shot and killed by a Post Falls police officer early Monday after striking a state trooper with his car, police say.

Justin Earl Nicholas Todd, 33, died at Kootenai Medical Center after a nearly 20-minue police chase ended with shots fired in a residential area near St. Estephe Court and Bordeaux Drive, just west of Ramsey Road and south of Honeysuckle Drive in Hayden.

Read the rest of my story here.

A Spokane man suspected of domestic violence was arrested on drug charges after a police chase late Sunday.

Shane Patrick Wilson, 34, drove away from the 500 block of East Everett Avenue in a white Acura after officers were called to the area by a man who identified Wilson as his estranged wife's boyfriend, according to the Spokane Police Department. The man told officers Wilson was harassing him and damaging his property.

Officers Ben Yinger and Aaron Ames stopped Wilson in the Acura, but he sped way.

Police say Wilson jumped out of the car in the 500 block of East Nebraska and ran into a home, where officers arrested him for attempting to elude police and possession of methamphetamine. He was booked into jail about 2:21 a.m.

Christopher John Steinbaugh, 31, also was contacted at the home and arrested for possession of meth.

Wilson already faces two felony drug charges for an arrest in January. He was scheduled to be in court Tuesday for those charges; now he'll be in court today on the new charges, too.

Wilson has previous convictions for possession of meth and second-degree robbery.

A 20-minute police chase through northeast Spokane led to arrest of a 40-year-old Spokane woman Monday.

Henrietta Allice Wynne is accused of fleeing a traffic stop by a Washington State Patrol trooper who spotted her driving erratically about 5:13 a.m. as she left the Royal Scot Motel parking lot at 6507 N. Division St.

Trooper Jeff Thoet pursued Wynne's red Ford Taurus from Division to a residential area, where she ran stop signs and reached a speed of 70 mph, according to police.

A sheriff's deputy deployed stop sticks at Lacey and Regal streets that deflated the Taurus' right front tire, but Wynne continued to drive on he tire rim and was able to avoid several attempts by Thoet to perform a pursuit immobilization technique, police say.

Two other tires deflated before Thoet successfully stopped the vehicle.

Police found a drug pipe in the car and arrested Wynne on charges of eluding police, driving while license suspended and misdemeanor warrants.

A Spokane fugitive found dead in a Western Washington lake has been identified as Seth Brian Brandley, 28.

Brandley was wanted on a Washington Department of Corrections warrant when he fled police in the Everett area Feb. 26.

Authorities responded Feb. 29 to North Lake Stickney Drive in Lynnwood for a report of a body floating in the water near a dock.

The Snohomish County Medical Examiner's Office identified the man Monday as Brandley, a Spokane resident with an extensive criminal history that includes three drug convictions in Spokane.

He also has convictions in Stevens County for residential burglary and second-degree theft.

He was sentenced in April 2011 in Spokane County for taking a motor vehicle without permission.

Brandley's cause and manner of death are pending investigation, the Medical Examiner's Office said.

Brandley leaves behind a wife, Tracey S. O'Blenness, 46, whom he married in 2010.

A Cheney man was arrested for drunken driving and eluding police early today in Stevens County.

Todd Earl Toreson, 38, lost control of his 2004 Ford F150 about 12:46 a.m. near on state Route 231 about 12 miles south of Springdale, according to Washington State Patrol.

His passenger, Beau Earl Lyons, 33, of Sedro Woolley, was injured and transported to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center.

Toreson was not injured.

Wellpinit Tribal police were pursuing Toreson when he crashed the truck and rolled into a ditch, WSP said.

A traffic stop for running a stop sign turned into a short vehicle and foot chase Tuesday in Spokane Valley.

Joseph Louis Barton, 48, was arrested after rolling out of the driver's seat of his car and onto the ground, then running into a backyard.

A large bush proved to be his undoing - Deputy Kevin Mosher saw he was having trouble getting past the bush and arrested him, according to the Spokane County Sheriff's Office.

Mosher tried to stop Barton after seeing him run a stop sign at Third Avenue and Havana Street. Barton accelerated westbound on Third, then stopped at Second Avenue and Dearborn Road, where Barton fled the vehicle.

He was arrested on a felony charge of attempted to elude as well as misdemeanor charges of driving while license suspended, hit and run, drunken driving, violating an ignition interlock requirement.

A north Spokane County man followed a burglary suspect as he sped away from his home this afternoon, leading to a chase with a sheriff's sergeant that ended with the suspect's arrest.

Harold A. Willey, 52, avoided spike strips at Bruce Road and Highway 206 but was arrested after Sgt. Jay McNall used his patrol car to force Willey's car into a spin that brought it to a stop, according to the Spokane County Sheriff's Office.

McNall was chasing Willey after a resident in the 12000 block of North Forker Road left his home for about 10 minutes to borrow tools from his father and returned about 1:45 p.m. to find Willey loading items from his garage into Willey's truck.

Willey left the items behind and sped away when he saw the man. The man called 911 as he followed Willey, who was driving west toward Argonne Road. McNall was at Argonne and Bruce roads when he saw Willey and took chase.

Willey was booked into jail on charges of  second-degree burglary, attempting to elude, resisting arrest, second-degree driving while license suspended as well as a felony warrant for possession of methamphetamine and misdemeanor warrant for violation of a protection order.
  

An attempted traffic stop for going 10 miles over the speed limit in Spokane Valley Wednesday night turned into police chase with a felony drug suspect, officials said today.

 Danny D. Harman, 36, was arrested after Officer Mark Brownell performed a Pursuit Intervention Technique on his vehicle, which involves nudging the back bumper with the nose of the patrol car to force it into a spin that brings it to a stop.

Brownell had tried to pull Harman over for driving 35 mph in a 25 mph zone near the 11600 block of East 8th Avenue when Harman refused to stop, according to the Spokane Valley Police Department.

Brownell found a  clear, gallon-size bag in the bed of Harman’s pickup that contained a glass pipe with suspected methamphetamine inside, as well as other baggies and a scale with suspected meth on it.

Harman was sentenced in 2007 to 25 months in prison for attempting to elude a police vehicle, second-degree theft and second-degree burglary.
  

This crash in north Spokane began when a sheriff's deputy tried to pull over the Honda. (KHQ-TV photo)

A man in a stolen car swerved into a police cruiser during a chase in north Spokane this afternoon.

The suspect, Aaron D. Lyons, 33, was arrested after he crashed the 1992 Honda Civic into shrubbery while trying to turn into the Rite Aid parking lot on North Division Street. Deputy Jeff Thurman blocked the Civic with his patrol vehicle and arrested Lyons, according to the Spokane County Sheriff's Office.

The chase began about 12:39 p.m. when Thurman tried to stop the Civic in the 8500 block of North Country Homes Road for failing to display license plates.

Before Lyons crashed near Rite Aid, Thurman tried to stop car with a “pursuit intervention technique” that involves nudging the back bumper of a fleeing vehicle, which forces it into a spin and brings it to a stop, but Lyons swerved into Thurman's car to avoid the move, the sheriff's office said.

The Civic was reported stolen on Sunday. Lyons also had a stolen credit card with him, according to the sheriff's office.

Lyons was booked into jail on felony charges of second-degree assault, attempting to elude police, possession of a stolen motor vehicle, second-degree malicious mischief and possession of stolen property, and misdeamenor charges of driving under the influence and driving while license suspended.

This car flipped over during a chase with Spokane police early Thursday. See more photos from KHQ-TV here.

Reports of gunfire near Corbin Park early today led to a police chase that ended with the suspect's car flipping on its roof.

Salvadore Lazalde, 29, was arrested for attempting to elude police and a warrant for car theft after he crawled out of his overturned four-door compact car as officers approached near West Garland Avenue and North Oak Street.

Sgt. Dave Overhoff was responding to at least nine reports of multiple gunshots in the area of the park about 2:20 a.m. when he saw a car matching the description of a vehicle a witness reported speeding away from the area just after the gunshots.

The car fled, and police stopped the vehicle with a “pursuit intervention technique,” which involves nudging the fleeing vehicle's back bumper with a patrol car, which forces it into a spin that brings it to a stop.

Police said they chose to stop the vehicle because of the “dangerousness of a vehicle pursuit and the seriousness of the crime being investigated.”

Lazalde's car hit a curb before it flipped over, police said. He was taken to Deaconess Medical Center as a precaution before being booked into jail, police said.

The shooting remains under investigation, as does the status of the vehicle Lazalde was driving.
  

A man in a stolen vehicle crashed into a police car during a chase in Spokane Valley earlier today, police said.

 The suspect, Joshua G. Garvin, 27, (pictured) was arrested after the short pursuit in the area of East Sprague Avenue and North Willow Road about 4:30 a.m. Officer Nathan Bohanek tried to stop Garvin after a license plate check on the 1990 Honda Accord he was driving said the car was stolen.

Garvin turned northbound on McDonald from Sprague, then drove westbound on Mission and southound on Argonne at speeds of 50 to 80 mile per hour, according to police.

Police continued the pursuit because vehicle and pedestrian traffic was light. Garvin turned east on Sprague and drove the wrong way on the five-lane road, so officers tried to execute a pursuit intervention technique, but

Garvin swerved to avoid the move and hit the patrol car, “causing damage to both vehicles,” according to a news release.

Garvin was arrested after a short struggle. Police found meth, marijuana, drug paraphernalia, shaved car keys and suspected stolen property.

Garvin was treated for a minor injury and booked into jail for several felonies, including possession of stolen property, attempting to elude law enforcement, and possession of a controlled substance, in addition to the warrants and misdemeanor charges.  More charges could be added if the property found in his possession is determined to be stolen.

Court records show Garvin was arrested in November on charges of possession of a stolen motor vehicle, posession of a controlled substance, residential burglary and posession of marijuana.

A no-bail warrant was issued Dec. 23 for violating the conditions of a felony sentence imposed in 2007.

A North Idaho man who killed himself during a police chase was allegedly trying to persuade his wife to drop charges against him.

Daniel Joe Zehm, 52, contacted his wife Sondra Zehm on Saturday at their Dalton Gardens home, according to the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department.

Police were alerted at 10:15 p.m. that Zehm had called a relative and reported that he was taking his wife to Kellogg, Idaho.

Zehm sprayed his wife with pepper spray and forced her into his vehicle., officials say. He had been driving with her since about 9 p.m, telling Sondra to drop the charges against him, officials say.

Zehm saw the deputies trying to stop him on Fernan Lake Road about 11:15 p.m. He fled toward Coeur d’Alene, running over a spike strip as he reached Fernan Village. He attempted to continue but came to a stop on Sherman Avenue, where he shot himself, police say.

Zehm was arrested in November after pouring gasoline on his wife and trying to light her on fire. He had been released from jail on $200,000 bond for felony charges of burglary and aggravated battery and was prohibited from contacting his wife.