Investigator Says Car Intentionally Set Afire
Fire officials are investigating an apparent fire bombing incident Monday that gutted a Yugo.
The fire was likely started by a flammable liquid sprayed in the car’s interior, said investigator Mike Zambryski.
“It was definitely torched,” he said.
Firefighters found the car, parked at the corner of Elm and Gardner in the West Central neighborhood, engulfed at 3:24 a.m. Monday. The owner of the car awoke with the sound of the fire engine and saw her car afire. The value of the tan Yugo was estimated at $300, and the owner didn’t have fire insurance.
Zambryski declined to give details about the incident, but said burn patterns indicated the fire was intentional.
He is investigating several leads, he said.
Armed men rob restaurant
Two armed men robbed a North Side Pizza Hut last weekend, making off with money from the cash register.
The men, described as young, black and wearing ski masks and dark clothing, walked in through the rear door of the restaurant at 6022 N. Division at about 10:30 p.m.
One robber had a handgun, the other pepper spray. They corralled customers and employees, took money from the register and fled.
No one was injured. Police are investigating.
Tire slashed on pickup truck
A North Side neighborhood felt the cut of a tire-slashing crime spree that has, until now, been centered on the South Hill.
The tire of a pickup truck parked in the 7400 block of North Lidgerwood was slashed last Friday evening.
The owner of the truck saw an older model red Camaro pull up next to her car, stop, then drive away.
The incident mirrors a rash of tire slashing in southeast Spokane between Dec. 26 and Jan. 16.
Police have no leads in those incidents, which have caused more than $5,000 in damage.
Police responded to more than 30 calls from victimized vehicle owners in the Lincoln Heights area.
The Secret Witness Program is offering a $200 reward for information leading to the arrest of the vandal or vandals involved.
Two arrested in school parking lot
Two teenage boys were arrested last week in the Shadle High School parking lot during what appeared to be a drug deal.
Police said Corey McDaniel, 18, and a 17-year-old boy were sitting in a parked car, with a large roll of bills and a baggie of marijuana.
A school security officer spotted them and called police.
McDaniel is not a student at the school, and was arrested for trespassing, on drug charges and for having a dangerous weapon, a large knife, on school grounds.
, DataTimes