Three Teenagers Beat Up Man, 81, Outside Theater

Teenagers beat up an 81-year-old man while he sat on a downtown sidewalk Tuesday afternoon, Spokane police said.

Witnesses said the victim was in front of the Fox Theater at Sprague and Monroe shortly after 3:30 p.m. when three young men walked by and started hitting him.

The teenagers kicked the man a few times before strolling away, police said.

The man had a little money with him but was not robbed. Police said the assault appears to be unprovoked, although the youths later accused the man of calling them names.

The victim, whose name wasn’t released, suffered a broken nose, two black eyes and a head wound. His dentures also were broken during the attack, and he was treated at Deaconess Medical Center.

Doctors told police the beating could have been life-threatening due to the victim’s age and frail condition, police spokesman Dick Cottam said.

“He’s lucky because it could have been worse,” he said. “The broken dentures are going to be the big thing for him now. They’re expensive.”

Based on descriptions of the youths, all three were caught a short time later on the north end of the Monroe Street Bridge.

Adrian Washington, 18, lied about his name and age when he was arrested. Police first took him to the Juvenile Detention Center but found out his real identity and booked him into the Spokane County Jail for third-degree assault.

He also was booked for obstructing an officer, Cottam said.

Police cited Brandon Linker, 19, for carrying a dangerous weapon. Linker had a club with a bicycle grip handle on it that he tried to hide when police stopped him, Cottam said.

There was not enough evidence to cite the third teenager.

The victim, who may be a transient, was not drunk and hadn’t been drinking at the time of the attack, police said.

“He was just sitting there,” Cottam said. “He didn’t do anything. Some real heroes, these guys.”

, DataTimes