Mother, Son Arrested At Valley Store
A security guard said he saw them leave with more than $270 worth of groceries they had not purchased.
A North Side woman and her 12-year-old son were arrested last Thursday afternoon after a security guard said he saw them leave a Valley grocery store with more than $270 worth of groceries they had not purchased.
A Spokane County Sheriff’s Department spokesman said a security officer at the Rosauers store at 10920 E. Sprague saw the pair place numerous items into a shopping cart.
The woman then transferred the items into a laundry basket and placed the basket back into the cart. The two then left the store without paying for the merchandise.
Margaret E. Roberts, 44, who gave her address as 1014 E. Sanson, was booked into Spokane County Jail for second-degree theft.
The boy was arrested and booked into the Spokane County Juvenile Detention Center on an unrelated warrant charging him with first-degree robbery.
Pets blamed for house fire
Two loose pets were the cause of a North Side house fire last week.
On Thursday afternoon, a pet dog and ferret that roamed unattended through a house at 214 E. Liberty knocked over a basement lamp that didn’t have a shade on it, according to Bob Green of the Spokane Fire Department.
Green said the lamp landed on a mattress, which caught fire at 2:30 p.m. Smoke and fire damage was contained to the basement.
Fire officials also said the smoke detector in the house wasn’t working because the battery was dead.
The family that rents the house returned to the home after the fire was extinguished. Firefighters managed to save both pets. There were no injuries in the fire.
Green said all lamps should be covered and pets should not be allowed have the run of the house when no one is there to watch them. He also said renters are required by law to make sure their smoke detectors are operational.
Another fire earlier in the week on the North Side was determined to be the work of an arsonist, Fire Department officials said.
Firefighters responding to a fire in a shed behind a house at 1607 N. Wall at about 5:20 p.m. Monday found the shed fully engulfed in flames. It was extinguished quickly and there were no injuries.
The incident is being investigated.
New COPS substation opens
Spokane Mayor Jack Geraghty and Spokane Police Chief Terry Mangan helped celebrate the opening of the new North Central COPS substation last Saturday morning.
The mayor and chief also presented awards and certificates to businesses and individuals who helped contribute to building the facility at 630 W. Shannon in the Emerson-Garfield neighborhood.
The building was provided to Spokane COPS by its owner, Sue Rouse. She is charging Spokane COPS $1 a year to rent the building.
Geraghty, a North Central High alum, applauded businesses and residents in the area for their community involvement in the COPS program.
Carol Olson is the current president of the substation.For more information about the substation, call Cheryl Steele at 625-3324, or the substation at 625-3348.
, DataTimes