Teenage burglary suspects arrested

Two teenagers doing a little electronics shopping early Monday were arrested after they were found in possession of a stolen laptop.

At about 1 a.m. Monday, a resident called in a burglary in progress at a home in the 2700 block of North Perrine Court, a known hangout for gang associates, said Spokane Valley Police spokesman Sgt. Dave Reagan in a press release.

The woman living there said she heard noises upstairs from her basement bedroom and went up to check them out. She saw two teen boys, both of whom she knew as associates of her son, carrying her flat-screen television out of the house. A laptop left on the couch was also gone.

The 15-year-old son told officers he had been conversing with the 14- and 15-year-old suspects online and they were intent on stealing a television to trade for marijuana. He refused to hand over his mother’s TV, so the suspects said they would target the clubhouse of a nearby apartment complex, Reagan said.

As officers were investigating the burglary, an alarm was received from the apartment complex. Someone had entered through an unlocked door and knocked a computer screen to the floor. Nothing appeared to be missing.

Cpl. Darin Staley found a white Ford Expedition parked at some apartments in the 700 block of North Argonne Road. The two burglary suspects and two other teens were inside. All were removed and restrained for questioning. A loaded .22-caliber pistol was found in the SUV and there was a laptop on the backseat, Reagan said. The vehicle was seized for further search later Monday.

After questioning the teens, the two suspects identified by the burglary victim were arrested and booked into Spokane County Juvenile Detention on felony counts of residential burglary. Both were runaways. A third teenager was arrested on a previously issued felony warrant.

The stolen flat-screen television was later found not far from the victim’s home, apparently dumped as the two suspects fled the area.