Valley businesses struck by burglars
Burglars struck a pair of businesses overnight Monday and Tuesday, and Spokane Valley police are looking for persons with information regarding the suspects, said spokesman Sgt. Dave Reagan.
Between 6 p.m. Monday and 6 a.m. Tuesday, someone entered the fenced storage yard at Arrow Concrete, 10225 E. Trent Ave., and stole numerous items of equipment and construction materials.
The suspect cut a hole in the fence at the northeast corner of the yard and stole a Billy Goat-brand power blower worth $1,200, a Billy Goat-brand vacuum worth $1,290, and a MBW-brand compactor worth $1,630. Also stolen was an unknown quantity of gallon containers of hydrochloric acid.
An employee said the firm was burglarized a few months ago and the suspect used the same method and point of entry, and also took hydrochloric acid in that incident.
On Wednesday, a burglar smashed out a front window in the Tracy Jewelers building, 106 N. Evergreen Road. The break-in occurred between midnight and 4:50 a.m., and the suspect used two large rocks to smash the glass.
A company spokeswoman said that it appeared the suspect took only empty jewelry boxes from an unlocked display drawer. However, she estimated it would cost $500 to repair the broken window.
Anyone with information about either break-in is encouraged to call the Spokane Valley police at 242-TIPS.
Man charged with backyard burglary
Police arrested a 44-year-old Spokane man Tuesday after he was caught burglarizing a pair of residences in the 6600 block of East Mission Avenue.
Officer Rob Stevens responded to one of the homes after the owner arrived about 11:40 a.m. and found a black Chevrolet Suburban parked behind the house. The woman noticed the door to her pump house, usually padlocked closed, open.
Stevens arrived and located Todd Michael Wright in the yard of the home to the west. He was wearing a hard hat and carrying a tablet of paper, and told the officer that the Suburban was his.
Stevens noted items of scrap metal inside the Suburban – shelving, wire and other loose pieces of metal that are commonly sold for scrap. He questioned Wright and determined that he was wearing the helmet and carrying the tablet to disguise his appearance.
Wright had broken into the pump house and the home next door, and had parked behind the complainant’s home so no one would see him.
Officer Stevens arrested Wright. He was booked into the Spokane County Jail on two charges of residential burglary.
Woman arrested on shoplifting charge
A 29-year-old Spokane woman was arrested Tuesday evening after she stole more than $250 in merchandise from the Spokane Valley Mall Sears store.
Officer Juan Rodriguez was called to the store after a private security officer reported that he watched a woman enter a dressing room where she apparently loaded a shopping bag from another business with Sears merchandise and then left the building without paying.
The stolen items included clothing, sunglasses, silverware and digital cameras. Total value of the products was nearly $270.
Rodriguez drove Kelly Dawn Taylor to the Spokane County Jail and booked her on a charge of second-degree theft.