In brief: Two arrested following break-in
Once again snowy weather proved to be the downfall of a pair of unthinking lawbreakers as tracks in the snow led police directly to their suspect last Thursday.
A silent alarm sounded at Ponderosa Elementary at 10105 E. Cimmaron Drive around midnight. Officers who responded found a smashed-out window. Two sets of tracks in the snow led away from the school, and one person apparently tried to gain entry into several parked cars, said Spokane Valley Police Department spokesman Sgt. Dave Reagan. One officer followed the tracks and found a backpack containing a GPS unit and other suspected stolen property while another officer stopped a man coming out of the woods, who was identified as 20-year-old Wayne R. McDonald of Spokane Valley. The tracks led directly to him and his boots matched prints lefts at the school, Reagan said.
A second suspect was at an apartment complex in the 3200 block of South University Road, where he was sleeping on the floor with his wet clothes nearby. The man, identified as 20-year-old Adrian W. Kober, was wanted on an escape warrant and initially gave police a false name. A bag containing a laptop computer marked with a Central Valley School District sticker was found under his coffee table, Reagan said.
Both men were arrested for second degree burglary and vehicle prowling. Kober was also charged with making false statement and second degree possession of stolen property.
Woman arrested on drug charge
A few four-wheel drive vehicles were necessary Monday for police officers to serve a warrant on a suspected marijuana growing operation. Police found 43 marijuana plants in the basement of a home in the 11800 block of East Eighth Avenue, said Spokane Valley Police Department spokesman Sgt. Dave Reagan. Another 14 starter plants were found in an upstairs bedroom, and four pounds of the harvested product was in the home.
Christina M. Schick, 59, was arrested and charged with manufacturing a controlled substance. Schick also uses the last name Self.
Bar brawl leads to arrests
A brawl broke out at Ichabod’s Tavern on East Sprague Avenue at closing time early Monday morning that left several bar patrons beaten. Witnesses identified Timothy A. Banks, 31, Leonard M. Porath, 23, and Manuel J. Trujillo, 25, as a trio of men who arrived shortly before closing time, said Spokane Valley Police Department spokesman Sgt. Dave Reagan.
Trujillo reportedly became loud and disruptive when employees began gathering up drink glasses. He then allegedly went into the parking lot and began assaulting customers with Banks and Porath backing him up, Reagan said. After Trujillo reportedly punched and knocked down two women, a male bar customer went to his car for a semi-automatic pistol and brandished it in the air in an attempt to get the trio to cease their attacks, Reagan said.
The trio allegedly knocked the man down and kicked and punched him an estimated 30 to 40 times before stealing his gun and leaving the parking lot. Police quickly tracked down the vehicle and saw the stolen gun being tossed from the car as it drove away, Reagan said. The gun was recovered.
Each of the three was arrested and charged with first-degree robbery, a felony. Banks, a convicted felon, was also charged with first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. A female passenger in the car was not charged.