Brothers Charged With Theft Of Boat Motors From Yard

Sheriff’s deputies arrested two men early Tuesday after more than $3,000 worth of boating equipment was stolen from behind a Spokane Valley house.

Michael T. Walls, 27, and Wendell A. Walls, 31, were booked into the Spokane County Jail for first-degree theft, a felony. The brothers, who both gave a 12002 E. Fourth address, were being held Thursday in lieu of $5,000 bail.

Deputies said a trolling motor and a 40-horsepower Suzuki outboard motor were stolen from a boat parked outside a house in the 10500 block of East Broadway. The motors were valued at $3,400, said sheriff’s Lt. David Wiryick.

At about 2 a.m. Tuesday, deputies stopped a 1982 Oldsmobile Cutlass at at Valleyway and Pierce, after chasing the speeding vehicle for several blocks.

Deputy Jay Reed began following the car after he noticed the windshield was smashed. When Reed turned his cruiser to pursue the car, it sped away southbound on University from Broadway.

At one point, the chase reached speeds of 60 mph in a 25 mph zone, Wiyrick said.

The driver of the Oldsmobile, Larry H. Johnson, 32, of Rockford, was arrested for driving with a suspended license. The Walls brothers were passengers in the car.

Deputies searched the car after arresting Johnson and found the stolen motors, a tool box full of tools, several wrenches, a bolt cutter, screwdrivers, a flashlight and gloves, Wiyrick said. The power cords leading from the motors had been cut, Wiryick said.

Johnson told sheriff’s Sgt. Pat Bunch that the Walls had stolen the motors and led deputies to the boat they had been taken from, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed in District Court.

Deputies found a broken mounting bracket on the boat. The piece matched the portion missing from the outboard motor, which was found in the trunk of the car Johnson had been driving, according to court documents.

, DataTimes