Man Escapes After Trailer Theft, Chase, Crash
Sheriff’s deputies are searching for a man who stole a trailer from a rental company early Sunday and then crashed it during a high-speed chase through a residential area.
The driver was described as a white man, with light brown or blonde curly hair, said Lt. David Wiyrick. Deputies said he was driving a brown and white Chevrolet Blazer when they saw him last.
The chase began near Fifth and Bradley about 12:30 a.m. when a deputy noticed the Blazer pulling a trailer with no tail lights.
The Blazer turned into a driveway on Fifth and then into an alley, causing the trailer to disengage from the hitch and tip onto its side, Wiyrick said. The Blazer then turned south onto Bradley and accelerated, deputies said.
With deputies in pursuit, the driver ran a stop sign at Eighth and continued south to Eleventh. It then turned east and raced away at about 45 miles per hour. The speed limit is 30.
The Blazer made several turns in the area and continued to Beverly and Park where it slammed into an iron fence. It then drove through a field and crashed through a fence.
Deputies lost sight of the Blazer when it reentered the road at 11th and Girard.
The trailer, which carried a portable generator and is valued at $15,000, was reported stolen the day before from Power Tool Rental and Sales Co., 7311 E. Sprague. Damage to the trailer and generator was estimated at $2,500.
An estimate of damages to property along the route of the chase was not available.
Homeowner interrupts burglar
A 30-year-old man was arrested for burglary Sunday after an Opportunity man who was returning home from church found the burglar coming out of his house.
After being confronted, the burglar fled in a beige Oldsmobile.
Several minutes later, deputies stopped a car matching the description and arrested James Richard Sherman, who gave his address as 11320 E. 30th, for residential burglary.
The victim told deputies a man walked out the front door of his home in the 1400 block of south Pines Road about 12:30 p.m. When confronted, the man told the homeowner he was looking for someone.
However, the person named did not live at the house, Wiyrick said.
The man then left in the car. The homeowner noticed several things were missing from his house and called deputies.
A deputy patrolling near Eighth and Pines spotted the car and stopped it at Fourth and Pines.
The homeowner came to the intersection and identified Sherman as the burglar, Wiyrick said.
Two arrested in shooting incident
Two teenagers were arrested for shooting handguns in the woods near Dishman Hills Saturday evening after nearby residents reported hearing gunfire and a scream.
Israel J. Eaton, 18, and Kenneth Keener, 19, both were booked into the Spokane County Jail for unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawfully discharging or aiming a firearm and carrying a concealed weapon.
Deputies received several reports of shots being fired in the woods southeast of Sprague and Park about 5:20 p.m., Wiyrick said. At least one caller reported hearing a scream.
When deputies arrived, they heard gunshots and found Eaton and Keener armed with a 9mm handgun and a .41-caliber handgun near the north boundary of Dishman Hills County Park, Wiyrick said.
Deputies did not find anyone injured.
Eaton also was booked on possession of a controlled substance. Deputies found cocaine when they searched Eaton, Wiyrick said.
, DataTimes