Man Arrested After Alleged Knife Threat

A 19-year-old Spokane man was arrested this week after allegedly threatening a North Side woman with a knife and hitting the woman and her seven-year-old daughter.

Benjamin N. Garris was booked Saturday on second- and thirddegree assault charges after police received a complaint of a domestic violence incident on North Magnolia.

The woman, 36, alleged that Garris, an aquaintance, showed up at her house Saturday morning and hit her daughter across the back.

When the woman protested, Garris allegedly hit her in the face, bit her and threatened her with a steak knife. The woman said she struggled with Garris and disarmed him.

The woman took her daughter to Deaconess Medical Center, where the girl received treatement for bruises on her back. Officers investigating the complaint said the girl’s back looked “red and blue.” The girl had been treated a week before for similar injuries the woman said were inflicted by Garris.

Police found Garris at a nearby residence. Officers said he appeared drunk. Formal charges have not yet been filed.

Youth starts fire

The Spokane Fire Department and an alert neighbor doused a house fire started by an 11-year-old boy.

At 9:10 p.m. Sunday, firefighters were called to a deck fire on the second story of a duplex on the 100 block of East Rockwell.

According to fire officials, an 11-year-old boy, who was babysitting his 5- and 6-year-old sisters while his parents were away, was playing with matches on the deck. The boy set fire to a pillow and a carpet hanging over the deck railing, but, not realizing it, went back inside.

A neighbor across the alley from the duplex saw the fire, called 911 and sprayed the deck with a garden hose.

Firefighters responding to the call evacuated the lower floor of the duplex and doused the fire.

The boy, who fire officials say has “had problems playing with matches before,” was referred to the Juvenile Fire Stopper program.

No charges have been filed against the boy.

, DataTimes