Man taken to jail on domestic violence charges

A Liberty Lake man who is well known to the Liberty Lake Police Department allegedly assaulted a woman and attempted to assault police officers Saturday night.

A caller reported Kahale N. Rogan, 30, was assaulting a woman at her home on Country Vista Drive. When officers arrived they found her bloody and bruised, said police Chief Brian Asmus. She had apparently been hit and kicked in the head repeatedly. “It was bad,” he said.

The woman told police she locked herself in the bathroom to hide and police found evidence that Rogan broke down the door to get to her. The assault reportedly occurred in front of the woman’s children. She was taken to the hospital.

“We’ve arrested him several times,” Asmus said. The man has a previous conviction for domestic violence and had also led police on a chase that hit speeds of 120 miles per hour in 2007 and was shocked by a Taser after refusing to cooperate with police when the chase ended, Asmus said.

Rogan was arrested at the home and was verbally threatening officers after he was handcuffed. “He tried to head-butt the officer,” Asmus said. Officer Brad Deines, who drove Rogan to the Spokane County Jail, wrote in his report that Rogan was making threats and calling him names during the entire drive. He also reported that Rogan kicked the divider between the front and back seat in the patrol car several times.

“Because of the severity of the assaults and the threats that he made, they set a very high bond,” Asmus said. However, Asmus was told Monday that Rogan was able to bail out of jail.

He was charged with second-degree domestic violence assault, three counts of felony harassment and first-degree burglary-domestic violence.

On Sunday night, the bad behavior continued when two motorists assaulted two police officers. An off-duty Washington State Patrol trooper called in a suspected drunk driver, who Deines spotted on Harvard Road. The car was pulled over in the Shell gas station parking lot when the female passenger became belligerent and got out of the car, said Asmus. She appeared to be drunk and demanded to know why they had been pulled over before reportedly pushing Deines in the chest.

When Deines attempted to handcuff the woman, the male driver got out of the car and approached the two. Officer Mark Van Hyning arrived as he did so and attempted to stop him from interfering with Deines, Asmus said. The two got into a fight. “They both fell to the ground,” Asmus said. “Mark had injuries to his left hand and left wrist.”

The woman did not physically fight but she did not cooperate or follow commands, Asmus said. “She had a few choice words for the officer.”

Police arrested Raymond R. Stotts, 51, of Malo, Wash., and Tammy L. Christensen, 51, of Newman Lake. Both were charged with felony third-degree assault on a law enforcement officer and obstructing a law enforcement officer. Stotts is also on probation in Ferry County for driving while intoxicated and driving with a suspended license, he said.

Asmus said that Stotts was not drunk and if the duo had not become combative, they would have been free to go on their way.

Just to prove that an off-duty officer is never off duty, even after a 17-hour day that included a fight with a suspect, Van Hyning stumbled upon a teenager at the Zip Trip who smelled strongly of marijuana when he stopped to get a soda on the way home Sunday. The teen admitted to recently smoking the drug and to having some in his car. The teen and his friend were both arrested and charged with possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

A driver stopped on Harvard Road on Feb. 17 was found to have three warrants out for his arrest for domestic violence assault, possession of marijuana and driving under the influence. He was also charged with possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and driving with a suspended license.

Other arrests were made during the week for driving without a valid license, driving with a suspended license and driving under the influence. Police responded quickly to a report of a violation of an anti-harassment order on Kelsea Court on Feb. 22, but the man had already left, Asmus said. Officers used the department’s new thermal camera to search for the man in the surrounding area, without success.

A possible counterfeit $20 bill was reported at the Zip Trip on Feb. 21. The bill was turned over to the Secret Service for investigation.

During the week, police responded to calls for a suspicious person, a man threatening a speeder with a baseball bat, a hit-and-run traffic accident and vehicle prowling. Three citations were given for license and plates required, three for failure to show liability insurance, three for violation of the 14-hour rule, two for failure to obey a traffic control device and two for following too close. Additional citations were handed our for failure to register vehicle within 30 days, attachment of plate to vehicle, defective steering, speeding, failure to wear a safety belt and unsafe/improper backing.

Three commercial vehicle inspections were conducted during the week.