East Trent gas theft prompts three arrests

Three men suspected of trying to steal gas from a commercial van were arrested early Tuesday.

Frank Millard Fry, 48; Cash L. Fry, 46; and Douglas Lee Curtis, 48, were jailed on theft charges after Spokane County sheriff’s Deputy Darin Powers drove past Twilight Bedding, 12013 E. Trent Ave., about 2:40 a.m. and saw two sets of feet standing on the other side of a van. A white pickup truck was parked closed by.

Frank Fry pulled a garden hose from the van’s fuel nozzle and jumped in the truck with Curtis. Powers held both men at gunpoint until help arrived. Cash Fry also was arrested in connection with the theft. Frank Fry and Curtis remained in jail Wednesday night.

Deputies recovered the hose used to steal gas and also recovered two automotive batteries that been removed from a vehicle by cutting the cables, according to a news release.