Man charged with attempted murder

A 36-year-old Deer Park man was arrested early today after he reportedly kidnapped his estranged wife and her male companion and then tried to push the man off the U.S. Highway 395 bridge at Wandermere, sheriff’s deputies said. David E. Epley was booked into Spokane County Jail on two counts of first-degree kidnapping and one count of attempted first-degree murder. Spokane County deputies were called just before 1 a.m. today by a truck driver who had picked up the estranged wife as she was running from the bridge, said Sgt. Dave Reagan. The woman said she and her friend were leaving Cinola Restaurant and Lounge, 14710 N. Newport Highway, on Tuesday night, in her Mazda when they were surprised by a man she identified as Epley hiding in the rear seat, Reagan said. He took control by brandishing a handgun and ordered the woman to drive across the North Side until they reached the Wandermere bridge. He ordered her to park and for the two of them to get out of the car. The suspect made the man put his hands on the railing while they talked, and then grabbed his legs and tried to toss him over the side of the 123-foot-high bridge. The woman ran. The male escaped and ran to a residence to call for help, Reagan said. Deputies later found his wallet along the bridge railing. Epley was arrested at a convenience store at Newport Highway and Mount Spokane Park Drive near the restaurant. He apparently went there to retrieve his pickup and leave the Mazda behind. He was arrested without incident. In a domestic violence call involving the couple last week, Epley and his estranged wife told deputies that the other person displayed a handgun, Reagan said.