Spokane7
50°
December 5, 2010 in City
Suspicious motorist crashes SUV as police close in
A man reportedly attempting to elude police crashed his SUV into two other vehicles, a light pole and a fire hydrant early Sunday morning at Sprague and Washington in Spokane.
At 5:44 a.m., Spokane police responded to a report of a suspicious person near Starbucks at Second and Division. A female employee told police that she has been approached by the SUV’s driver, later identified as Patrick F. Valenzuela, 28, who offered her a ride to work. The woman told police that she didn’t know Valenzuela and didn’t accept the ride, but he followed her to work.
Valenzuela later circled the business several times, prompting employees to call the police, according to reports.
Police officers located the white SUV and attempted to stop Valenzuela to investigate his activities, but he fled instead, according to police reports. Valenzuela was arrested on charges of driving under the influence of intoxicants and attempting to elude a police officer.
2 home invasion robberies in Spokane 
v1grwil on December 05 at 2:54 p.m.
I am amazed that the ever vigilant SPD didn’t shoot the man.
Elkay on December 05 at 4:06 p.m.
Valenzuela would have scared me too. The employees and SPD did the right thing … they got the guy.
I get weary hearing unnecessary cheap shots fired at LE.
misjustice on December 05 at 5:04 p.m.
v1grwil: Nice. Your attitude just helps people even more with their disdain about authority. They did the right thing & people like you still find fault.
SAD!!
v1grwil on December 05 at 5:23 p.m.
You have got to be kidding. You forget the “attitude” of the police authority here. I have lived here my entire life for the most part. I have seen it change. The way Hirzel ‘executed’ Scott Creech, a business man, a father, etc. and I see him lumped into the criminal class by some citizens (Creech). That is outrageous!
Then when Ozzie says that without all our good deputies businesses will not relocate to Spokane, give me a break. He, et al, just killed one of our better businessmen. Look around you commentors. We are back to the wild west, the cops are making the rules as they go.
misjustice on December 05 at 5:33 p.m.
You didn’t get the entire story about some of those people that have been killed. One of them, let’s just say hypothetically (?) a business man/preacher, was involved with a supremacy group that the paper would not comment on. That group of people don’t like any type of authority. What would you expect the police to do? What would you want them to do?
I’m not dumb enough, nor naive enough, to believe these people did nothing wrong. You wave a gun at the police & most of the time you will be on the losing end. But for people like you to just assume the police did or would shoot the man is absurd.
v1grwil on December 05 at 8:00 p.m.
Great argument Gramma, I truly love your logic, your phrasing is cogent and you sound, at least to me, like an interesting person to talk to. I got busy this evening but I didn’t want to just ignore your response. Take care.
ambworth on December 05 at 10:49 p.m.
Get off of current story much folks? jus sayn. good to hear this young lady is safe. glad the man was caught before he hurt someone.
Bruce (aka thatoneguy) on December 05 at 11:59 p.m.
What ambworth said, but with this addition: it’s Obama’s fault. Or Gregoire’s. Or King County’s. Or something.
misjustice on December 06 at 9:17 a.m.
Our comments weren’t off the current story. v1 said it’s amazing the SPD didn’t shoot the guy & I said it’s too bad to think that way and gave my reasons why I thought so.
Bob_Knows on December 06 at 1:54 p.m.
Blue gun thug chases almost always end in serious property damage. The gun thugs get an adrenaline high playing chase, but it is willful endangerment of the public and deliberately causing serious property damage.
In addition to the property damage, 1/5 of chases end in injury, often to innocent bystanders. 1/25 end in death. The blue gun thugs should be fired for recklessly endangering the people.