Man arrested in carjacking

Spokane police arrested a 40-year-old man Thursday after a woman reported being carjacked in a Safeway parking lot.

Douglas Grant Murphy was charged with first-degree robbery and carjacking, Spokane Police Department spokesman Dick Cottam said.

About 3 p.m., a man riding a bicycle pulled up beside the woman in the Safeway Store parking lot at 3919 N. Market St. She told police the man opened her door, pulled her out and drove away, leaving the bicycle behind.

The woman wasn’t injured, Cottam said. She called police from inside the store.

Police found the Pontiac Grand Prix abandoned in the 3700 block of North Cook, Cottam said. A man fitting the suspect’s description was spotted walking in the 2000 block of East Euclid Avenue.

Murphy was arrested without incident, police said. He had the woman’s checkbook, credit card and driver’s license when he was stopped, police said.

Bicycle corral offered for Bloomsday runners

For the 10th year, the Spokane Bicycle Club will set up a bicycle corral for Bloomies who don’t want to fight traffic and parking problems on Bloomsday.

Participants can leave their cars at home, pedal downtown and drop off their bikes at the corral, a secure fenced area in Riverfront Park. Club members will watch the bikes during the race, making sure they’re not stolen or vandalized, said Sally Phillips, the club’s vice president. The service is free.

About 150 to 200 bikers usually use the corral, but Phillips said they can handle even more.

The corral is located just south of the YMCA, about two blocks from the Bloomsday starting line, and is accessible from Howard Street. It’s open from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Bicyclists are encouraged to bring a lock to secure their bikes and may leave their helmet and warm-up clothing in the corral.

Bloomsday is May 1.

Suspect arrested in assault of trooper

The Washington State Patrol arrested a man Thursday in Spokane Valley in connection with injuring a trooper a day earlier.

Yuriy M. Shechuk, 22, was charged with first-degree assault, eluding, vehicle prowling and possession of stolen property.

Detectives tracked Shechuk to the 12000 block of East Maxwell after he left his jacket on a rooftop near the scene of the incident at 17th Avenue and Pines Road. The jacket contained traffic violations he had received a few days earlier from the Spokane Police Department.

On Wednesday, trooper Wayne Turner saw two men near Loretta Drive and 32nd Avenue whom he suspected of vehicle prowling, said Washington State Patrol trooper Jeff Sevigney. As he approached, one suspect fled on foot and the other jumped in a white truck and sped away.

Turner cornered the suspect in the truck at 17th Avenue and Pines Road, Sevigney said. The suspect rammed the patrol car multiple times, seriously injuring Turner’s hand in an attempt to flee. Turner will likely need surgery, Sevigney said.

Detectives went to the East Maxwell address Thursday to search Shechuk’s residence for evidence, Sevigney said. The search for the second suspect is also ongoing.

Downtown library closed Saturday

Spokane’s Downtown Library will be closed Saturday so staff members can make changes to improve customer service, library officials said.

Downtown Library patrons can go to the South Hill Library, 3324 S. Perry, or Shadle Library, 2111 W. Wellesley, which will both be opened from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Pat Partovi, deputy director of public services, said the third-floor service desk downtown is being moved to the center of the floor near the staircase so that librarians will be able to monitor and help out in the children’s reading area, which is not now being staffed under budget cuts this year.

Also, the Downtown Library’s 16 computers with Web access will all be located on the third floor under the changes, Partovi said. “They are very heavily used,” she said, recommending that library users make appointments so they can be sure to get time on the Web computers. Sessions are limited to one hour.

Also, videos and DVDs are being moved from the third floor to the second floor, she said.

“We will work all night if we have to,” she said. “We are planning to be open Tuesday.”

Suspect gets break for testifying against boss

Brian Thew got a break Thursday for helping convict his criminal boss of kidnapping, stringing up and torturing a Spokane man suspected of stealing the boss’s motorcycle.

Thew, 50, testified against Colt Allen “Coltis” O’Connell last month in a trial in which a jury convicted the Newport, Wash., resident of first-degree kidnapping and first-degree assault. With Thew’s help, the 36-year-old O’Connell strung up Terry L. “Long Hair” Couveau in a garage and tortured him while he dangled from the ceiling in November 2003.

O’Connell cut off Couveau’s shirt and long hair with a large knife, beat him and cut him superficially from his torso to his neck. O’Connell suspected Couveau, 34, of stealing his Triumph Tiger 750 Special Edition motorcycle.

Spokane County Superior Court Judge Neal Rielly sentenced O’Connell earlier this month to 14 years in prison.

In exchange for his testimony against O’Connell, Thew was allowed to plead guilty Thursday to two counts of unlawful imprisonment. Superior Court Judge Linda Tompkins sentenced Thew to four months in jail, with credit for six months he had already served.

Thew had been charged with first-degree kidnapping, first-degree robbery and first-degree assault.

The jury that convicted O’Connell of kidnapping and assaulting Couveau acquitted him of robbing Couveau and of kidnapping and robbing another man suspected of trying to help Couveau sell O’Connell’s motorcycle.

Court documents say Thew was taking Stephen J. “Smurf” Miller, 24, to O’Connell against his will, but changed his mind. Miller told police that Thew released him, saying, “I don’t want to see you go through the same stuff Terry did.”