Deputies in Spokane Valley found two suspected stolen firearms Tuesday while contacting a woman who was driving with a suspended license, officials said today.

Jill A. Benton, 27, told deputies she placed a backpack in the bed of a truck next to her vehicle in the area of 400 North University Road and that there were two guns inside, according to the Spokane County Sheriff's Office.

Benton allowed deputies to search the backpack, and they recovered a KSI Pomona 9mm handgun and a 16-gauge Westpoint shotgun.

Benton allowed deputies to search her storage unit in Spokane Valley, “where there were several items that she said were more than likely stolen,” according to a news release.

Benton also told deputies she'd picked up a “felon” associate who had been driving a Honda, the sheriff's office said. She took deputies to the Honda, which was listed as stolen. Benton was booked into jail on two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm.

Police are asking property crime victims to review photos of the seized property from this case and from other investigations on the Sheriff's Office Facebook page.

“Citizens are required to call Crime Check with their original theft report number and must show proof of ownership for the items they recognize,” according to a news release.

Benton is prohibited from possessing firearms because of felony convictions, which include riot, conspiracy to possess a controlled substance and conspiracy to deliver a controlled substance related to a medical marijuana robbery in January 2011.

Police on Friday arrested four men considered to be “well known burglars” responsible for crimes in Spokane Valley, officials said today.

A Spokane Valley night-shift patrol platoon led by Sgt. Don Manning focused on the area of 400 North University Road and the area of 13500 East Rich Road, which police say “have been notorious for criminal activity for some time.”

Arrested were Damian M. Plumley, 22, on warrants for three counts of second-degree theft and one count of first-degree trafficking in stolen property; Steven D.T. Devitt, 42, on a warrant for second-degree theft and vehicle prowling; Christopher Michael Stoddard, 20, on new charges of second-degree theft and first-degree trafficking in stolen property; and Mark William Bush, 37, on a Washington Department of Corrections warrant for failure to comply.

 Bush (pictured) is a repeat offender who was targeted by Crime Stoppers in February even though he already was in DOC custody.

Police recovered a large amount of stolen property during the arrests Friday, which property crimes detectives identified and returned to their owners.

“The return of these items took longer than normal because none of the high value items had been reported stolen,” sheriff's spokesman Deputy Craig Chamberlin said in a news release. “When detectives asked the property owners why they did not report the thefts, the property owners said they had not gotten around to it.”

“Citizens are asked to report any type of theft, suspicious vehicles or persons to either 911 or Crime Check,” Chamberlin continued. “This information is extremely valuable and played a vital role with the multiple arrests made this weekend in Spokane Valley. The Sheriff's Office has devoted extra resources to focus on burglaries in unincorporated Spokane County and the City of Spokane Valley.”

More than $14,000 in merchandise was stolen from a Spokane Valley video game store late Monday or early Tuesday.

The owner of Game On in the 11800 block of East 1st Avenue told police the store was burglarized overnight and eight X-box gaming systems were stolen, along with eight X-Box wireless controllers, eight X-Box wired controllers, 150 X-Box games, two external hard drives, a wireless computer router, a Toshiba laptop computer, 100 Blu-ray movies and $200 in cash, according to the Spokane Valley Police Department.

Crime Stoppers is offering a reward for tips that lead to an arrest. Anyone with information is asked to call 1-800-222-TIPS or submit tips online. Tipsters do not have to give their names.

Three Spokane Valley police officer saved the life of a suicidal man Wednesday.

Officers Griffin Criswell, Wally Loucks and Richard Johnson found the man attempting to hang himself at his Spokane Valley home after the man called 911 and said he wanted to kill himself.

The officers got the victim down and began CPR. They located a pulse and the man was transported to a hospital, where his family said today that he's alert and conscious “with a positive demeanor,” according to the Spokane Valley Police Department.

They extended their deepest gratitude and thanks to officers Criswell, Loucks and Johnson for their quick response and heroism during this traumatic event,” according to a news release.

The National Suicide Lifeline is available at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). More information on suicide prevention is available through the Spokane Regional Health District.

Police are again looking for tips on the theft of Nook tablets from the Spokane Valley Barnes and Noble, this time for a break-in early March 5.

Officers responded to an alarm at the store, 15310 E. Indiana Ave., at 5:52 a.m. and found a tire iron on the ground next to the shattered window. They believe the burglary targeted the Nook kiosk because cash registers and other merchandise appeared to be untouched, according to the Spokane Valley Police Department.

Surveillance video released Tuesday shows the thief wearing possibly a heavy fleece jacket with a white North Face logo on he left front chest and on the back right shoulder.

He also wore what appears to be dark blue jeans and dark shoes with a bright red logo on the heel, as well as a tan baseball hat with a light green bill and a blue and black backpack.

Police also are looking for tips on possible suspects in the theft of Nook tablets from the same store March 4.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Check at (509) 456-2233.
  

   Property crime detectives are asking for help identifying two men who may have information about electronic “Nook” reading tablets stolen from the Barnes and Noble bookstore in Spokane Valley last week.

The theft occurred March 4 just before 6 p.m.

The Spokane Valley Police Department today released surveillance photos of the men in hopes someone will recognize them.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Check at (509) 456-2233.

Spokane Valley police are trying to identify an “aggressive panhandler” who threatened a store manager with a knife on Sunday.

Officer Clay Hilton responded to Harbor Freight near Sprague Avenue and Sullivan Road, where the manager said a panhandler had opened a customer's vehicle door and asked for money about 8 p.m.

She brandished a knife and walked toward the manager when he confronted her, then made an incoherent statement and ran north, police said. She got into a white Ford F-150 truck and drove away.

She was described as white, 5-foo-5 with a thin build. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Check at (509) 456-2233.

Panhandling is illegal in Spokane Valley.

A sheriff's dog tracked a car theft suspect who fled a crash in Spokane Valley early today.

The K-9, Brax, located Justin C. Luce, 32, hiding near a tree about two blocks from the crash near 600 N. Walnut Road, which occurred after Luce fled a traffic stop near Walnut and Broadway Avenue about 3 a.m., according to the Spokane Valley Police Department.

Officer Juan Rodriguez located the crashed car unoccupied with a shaved key inside the ignition. A sheriff's helicopter and Brax tracked Luce to the tree.

Police found a backpack in the stolen vehicle that contained marijuana. Officers say it and several burglary tools found in the car belonged to Luce.

Luce is to be sentenced March 26 for a burglary in Kootenai County that's connected to the theft of a high-end triathlon bicycle recovered by Coeur d'Alene police just in time for Ironman.

Luce also has a conviction in Spokane County for car theft that stemmed from a similar police chase in the Valley last April.

A report of attempted shoplifting at a Spokane Valley department store led to a felony drug arrest after police searched the suspect's car.

Employees at Kohl's, 16301 East Broadway Ave., called 911 Monday and said a woman was inside placing items by the door as a red Nissan Alitmia circled the parking lot. The woman went outside to talk to the female driver, and employees provided the Altima's license plate number to dispatchers, police said today.

Spokane Valley police Officer Jerad Kiehn passed the Niissan while responding to the store. He stopped the vehicle, and the driver, Whitney J. Longmeier, 26, denied being at Kohl's and allowed Kiehn to search her car, police say.

Kiehn found  a small metal container in Longmeier's purse that contained a plastic baggie with methamphetamine inside, according to police.

Longmeier was arrested on a felony drug charge as well as a charge of third-degree driving while license suspended.

Her passenger, 22-year-old Laurel E. Broxton, 22, was booked into jail on a warrant for a felony drug charge from last year.

Police are looking for information on a vandalism and attempted theft at a Spokane Valley elementary school early Saturday.

Officers responded to an alarm at Greenacres Elementary School in the 17915 E. Fourth St. about 2:57 a.m.

They arrived to find a window pried out o the wall on the east side of the school. A projector mounted on a classroom ceiling was hanging by wires.

Officer set up a perimeter and called in a police dog, but officer did not locate a suspect.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Check at (509) 456-2233.

In this Oct. 27, 2005 photo, Parolee Victor Luna, left, listens to his mentors Tom Murphy and Suellen Pritchard during a weekly meeting to help Luna adjust to life outside of prison. Luna was arrested this morning on stolen property charges. (SRphotoarchives)

A 30-year-old felon who pledged to turn his life around several years ago is back in jail after a long-term investigation into stolen property trafficking.

Victor Alonzo Luna was arrested after a SWAT team secured his home in the 12700 block of East 31st Avenue in Spokane Valley this morning, according to the Spokane Valley Police Department.

Luna has 10 felony convictions that include assault, unlawful possession of a firearm, riot burglary and possession of stolen property, which prompted the use of the SWAT team.

Luna was arrested without incident on a charge of fist-degree trafficking in stolen property.

The Spokane Valley property crimes unit had been investigating Luna for dealing in stolen property. Detectives observed him purchase several items he believed to be stolen, police say.

Luna told investigators he purchases property from a lot of people and “that he did not want to know if the property was stolen or not,” police said. He's prohibited from dealing with pawn shops because of his criminal history, but Luna admitted to enlisting others to pawn property for him, police say.

Luna gave an extensive interview to The Spokesman-Review in 2005 while a member of  Going Home, the Washington State Re-entry Project, a pilot program to keep young felons with a history of serious violent crime from victimizing the neighborhoods in which they are released.

At the time, Luna said every day “on the outside” is a major victory.

“So many times I wanted to go back to (crime). Money’s tight, and it’s so much easier money,” Luna said.

Read the story here.

Spokane Valley police are trying to identify two men who stole tools from the East Valley School District.

Surveillance photos released today show one of the thieves in the maintenance yard in the 18000 block of East Euclid Avenue on Jan. 27.

Police say the thieves entered a fenced area and stole about $300 worth of tools.

Anyone with information on a suspect is asked to call Crime Check at (509) 456-2233.

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.
  

A man who threatened his former roommate with a knife before ignoring police commands was arrested without incident Tuesday night in Spokane Valley, police said today.

Police say Daniel W. De Long, 43, clinched his fists and “aggressively walked” toward officers after they ordered him to show them his hands.

Officers Lamont Petersen and David Lawhorn physically restrained  De Long, 6-feet tall and 290 pounds, when he appeared to be reaching for his waist area, according to a news release.

Police heard De Long was armed when they were dispatched to a home in the 18700 block of East Valleyway Court for a report of a knife threat. They arrived about 8:30 p.m. to find the front door open and could see De Long arguing with the victim. Police found the knife in the kitchen, where they believe De Long dropped it when he heard them arriving.

The victim told police he was drinking with De Long earlier that night, and De Long pushed his way into his home when he answered the door and yelled at him about clothing, then threatened to stab him with the knife.

De Long was booked into jail for felony second-degree assault and misdemeanor obstructing law enforcement and resisting arrest.

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.

This is a screen shot of a video vehicle prowling suspect Nathan Calvert posted on his Facebook page.

 An alleged car prowler who posted a video of himself with suspected stolen property on his Facebook page pleaded not guilty Tuesday to six felony charges.

Nathan John Calvert, 28, remains in jail on a no-bail state Department of Corrections probation hold after his arraigned before Superior Court Judge Annette Plese on charges of residential burglary, possession of a stolen motor vehicle, vehicle prowling and three counts of second-degree theft.

His trial is scheduled to begin Feb. 21.

Calvert was arrested Dec. 9 after an attorney caught him in his truck. Spokane Valley police say Calvert had a stolen Jeep filled with stolen property.

Calvert told detectives he committed 30 to 40 vehicle prowlings and garage burglaries a night for two to three weeks throughout Spokane County, police say.

Detectives expect to use Calvert's Facebook video as evidence. The video shows Calvert in a vehicle he describes as a Jeep. He focuses on stolen property in the back of the vehicle and says he hasn't decided what he's going to do yet. Then he raps.

Check out the video here.

A Colorado couple accused of sawing off a dead man's fingers to steal a pistol he was holding was arrested late Friday at a Spokane Valley motel.

 Jerod M. Reeves, 29, and Kimberly M. McCaffery, 35, are in the Spokane County Jail after police surrounded the Red Top Motel, 7217 E. Trent Ave., and used a public announcement system before the suspects surrendered. 

Police believe the Craig, Colo., couple stumbled upon a murder-suicide scene earlier this month and stole valuables. The victim, 62-year-old William Ahrold killed his 9-year-old son and then himself, according to the Associated Press. The father and son were last seen alive on Dec. 9.

Authorities issued a wanted notice for Reeves and McCaffery last week after surveillance photos showed them using Ahrold's credit cards, according to the Denver Post.

The FBI alerted Spokane Valley police Friday about 2:25 p.m. that the couple used a stolen credit card at a convenience store at East Fourth Avenue and North Sullivan Road after traveling from Portland, Ore. The suspects were “electronically tracked” to the motel about 9:30 p.m., according to the Spokane Valley Police Department. In an article Sunday, the Denver Post included an online review of the motel that said “All you see is prostitutes and meth users there 2 4/7.”

Reeves indicated he and McCaffery had sold the stolen pistol, according to police. The suspects face charges of tampering with physical evidence, criminal possession of a financial device (credit cards) and first-degree criminal trespassing.

They're awaiting extradition to Colorado and could appear in Spokane County Superior Court Tuesday as fugitives from justice.

This is a screen shot of a video vehicle prowling suspect Nathan Calvert posted on his Facebook page. View the video here.

Spokane Valley police say a video posted by a car prowling suspect on his Facebook page that features suspected stolen loot will be used as evidence against him.

“It'd be kind of silly for us not to,” said Sgt. John Nowels.

The video, posted two days before his arrest, shows Nathan John Calvert in a vehicle he describes as a Jeep. He focused on a large amount of property in the back and passenger seat and said he hasn’t “really figured out what I’m going to do yet.”

Police believe it's the same stolen Jeep that contained about 100 items of stolen property when Calvert, 28, was arrested Friday after an attorney caught him in his truck and held him until police arrived. Police also suspect Calvert used stolen equipment to film and post the video, which they learned of from The Spokesman-Review.

A woman who identified herself as the mother of Calvert's son commented on the video, criticizing Calvert and accusing him of giving their son a stolen bike.

Nowels said that comment prompted detectives to track the bike to the woman's mother, who said she suspected it was stolen.

“We do have a bike we know got stolen by him that he wouldn't tell us what he did with,” Nowels said. “Turns out it's a totally different bike.”

But detectives haven't found a police report that mentions the bike.

“We can't really go take it until we know it's stolen or not,” Nowels said.

Valley police have posted photos of the unclaimed stolen goods on the department's Facebook page. Calvert told detectives he committed 30 to 40 vehicle prowlings and garage burglaries a night for two to three weeks.

He's in jail on new felony charges and a Washington Department of Corrections probation hold and is due in Superior Court this afternoon on charges of residential burglary, possession of a stolen motor vehicle, vehicle prowling and three counts of second-degree theft.

Jail employees have not responded to a request to interview Calvert.

This is just a portion of the stolen property recovered after the arrest of Nathan Calvert. More photos are available on the Valley police Facebook page.

Police say a man who prowled at least 30 cars a night throughout Spokane County picked the wrong truck in the Valley recently.

 Spokane lawyer Brant Stevens caught up with suspect Nathan John Calvert, 28, after spotting him inside his unlocked truck early Friday in the 1500 block of North Coach Drive, then held him until officers arrived.

“He’d fight for a little bit and then he’d get tired and then he’d stop and he’d try to talk me into letting him up,” Stevens said. “It was kind of an awkward 20 minutes where I’m just laying on the guy waiting for the cops to show up.”

Read the rest of my story here.

Spokane Valley police are conducting vehicle prowling patrols as the Christmas season gets underway.

An emphasis Tuesday by the property crimes unit led to the arrest of Jeremiah K. Mileham, 21, who was booked into jail on charges of third-degree theft, vehicle prowling and driving while license suspended.

“The Spokane Valley Police Department and the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office would like to remind everyone: items left in vehicles make targets of opportunity for thieves,” according to a news release by spokesman Deputy Mark Gregory. “As you shop, it’s better to keep your valuables with you and if you leave items in your vehicle, place them in the trunk where they can’t be seen.”