August 23, 2011 in City
Three arrested after shots fired at drinking party
Three 18-year-old men were arrested this morning after a shooting at a drinking party in Spokane Valley.
Jered Underwood and Dillon J. Wilcher each face three counts of first-degree assault after one of three alleged victims flagged down a Washington State Patrol trooper and said they’d been shot with a shotgun while running from a fight at 12126 E. Mansfield Road, according to the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office. Suspect Robert M. Fleck was arrested on charges of providing false or misleading statements to police and felony riot.
Three people suffered minor wounds from small-gauge shotgun pellets after a group of people arrived at the home to fight one of the party-goers. A brawl ensued in front of the home, and someone fired a shotgun at the visitors as they fled about 2:20 a.m. Police detained about 10 people and locked down the area after learning the gunman had retreated inside the home.
The Spokane County sheriff’s SWAT team responded, as well as the bomb team, which sent a robot to the home to leave a phone. The suspect called his brother, who handed the phone to sheriff’s negotiators.
The suspect surrendered within minutes, and the SWAT team searched the home and found no other suspects. Detectives seized three shotguns with spent and unspent shotgun cartridges.
The incident closed Pines Road for more than three hours.

Spokane7

tr00per on August 23 at 8:30 a.m.
A stand off with police over a guy with a PELLET GUN? You’ve got to be kidding me.
Wizard_Of_Oz on August 23 at 9:02 a.m.
I wonder if they are all unmarked cars with no lights/sirens and someone gets whacked with an invisible baton and then shot in the back?
Jimmy on August 23 at 9:16 a.m.
If you pump them up enough a pellet gun is as strong as a .22
Banana on August 23 at 9:30 a.m.
When my son was in the hospital, there was a little girl in a room next to his. She had been shot in the stomach with a pellet gun that had been pumped to the max. She was in serious condition. Thankfully the pellet had barely missed a majory artery.
mcjjensen on August 23 at 9:56 a.m.
OK, did anyone think that the pellets might be those that come out of a shotgun shell?
meadman, you did make me laugh. How true.
JayNW on August 23 at 11:00 a.m.
Ive seen some pretty nasty wounds with shotgun pellets. And you never know what other firearms that person has while hiding in the house. Going home to their families and safety of the community is a priority; why take unneccsary risks? So what if your commute was delayed. If that is the worst you face in a day, then your life is a thousand times safer still than that of a police officer.
Thoreau on August 23 at 11:01 a.m.
From afar, a bb / pellet gun looks like a firearm. Plenty of mishaps have happened involving pellet guns mistaken as real guns.
Also, pellet guns have extreme velocity and accuracy, and are dangerous in their own fashion. They need to be handled like a firearm.
Wizard_Of_Oz on August 23 at 11:59 a.m.
If pellet rifles/pistols are Sooo dangerous, why dont we take the firearms away from the cops and give them Red Ryder bb guns?
There is a WORLD of difference between a pellet rifle and a .22. However that does not mean one should not respect either one as not being dangerous.
Pellet rifles with a muzzle velocity of 800 fps drops to 400 fps in 70 yards. and falls to zero in the next 50 yards. Revisit your high school physics. F = m x a.
A little research turned up the fact that air guns were in use before gunpower weapons. They had an advantage of being weather tolerant where as gun power gets wet easily and absorbes moisture rendinging them ineffective. Hence “keep your powder dry”.
Blacksheep3 on August 23 at 12:41 p.m.
@ OZ, are you referring that Creach was shot in the back? If so, then that is inaccurate. He was shot in the chest.
D Statler on August 23 at 1:09 p.m.
Thanks to our Police that strive to be the very best ! I personally know the good far out number the bad. We will weed out the bad apples eventually friends. Think positive and vote wisely :^)
deerbandit on August 23 at 1:50 p.m.
I personally want to thank every Police Officer or Sheriffs Deputy that works in Spokane County. I think they do a great job considering all of the idiots here who knock them as well as this paper. Every one of you haters would be beating them up here if they left the scene where this idiot is holed up. You would be saying how they are not protecting you. If you think you could do a better job I challenge you to join the departments and change them from within if you think they are so bad. One thing though all of you talk the big talk but dont have what it takes to actually do something about it. So just keep blabbing away because your words mean nothing.
Squid on August 23 at 2:29 p.m.
Deerbandit: Oh yeah, the SPD obviously seems to be running pretty well. Just read the paper in the last week. Nothing out of the ordinary.
Denial and ignorance don’t ever fix anything, but then again, according to you, nothing is broken, right?
Just curious, what is your profession? Pretty sure I already know.
misjustice on August 23 at 2:48 p.m.
No charges for MIP?
I’m sure that alcohol had no role in this incident…yeah, right?
Come on kids, testosterone+booze+firearms = trouble…
Just sayin’…
Wizard_Of_Oz on August 23 at 2:53 p.m.
Now the story comes out that it was a shot gun and all the pellet gun experts look a little foolish.
dearbandit must be that SPD copper that tried to hide the fact him and his kids were poaching and had a little fisticuffs with the Dept of Game and Wildlife officer.
Concur squid.. the SPD is like a cheap hotel in guadalahara when you turn the lights on at night. All the cockroaches scurry to get out of the light of an independant investigator.
deerbandit on August 23 at 3:53 p.m.
I notice none of you have taken me up on the challenge to change the department from within???? I admit there are some bad apples and they are trying to get rid of them. But some of you idiots here think an Officer should be fired for not saying excuse me after he passes gas quietly. All I am saying is alot, not all of you talk real big about change but that’s all it is, TALK. The idiots today used shotguns and three were recovered from the home. But one of the idiots earlier made comments about pellet guns. Some of you would even complain if one of these Officers saved your life at risk to themselves. I also know that if some person was breaking into your house you would not hesitate to call the Police. But when no arrest is made because you cant give a description ( because you were hiding in your closet crying while talking to the Police dispatcher begging the Police to hurry up and dave you) you would still complain about the Police. If you can do better change the system don’t cry about it from the outside.
Squid on August 23 at 3:59 p.m.
Follow the Otto Zehm controversy in full detail, and then tell me it’s even remotely possible to change anything from within.
I am more afraid that I wouldn’t call the police if someone was breaking into my house. I’d probably end up in prison for protecting myself, my girlfriend, and my property.
greyhound2 on August 23 at 4:26 p.m.
Pellet guns may be dangerous, but did you know that Republicans (GOP) discovered that 98% of poor people own a refrigerator! Really, why should billionairs have to pay any taxes at all when so many poor people own a refrigerator! The injustice of it all makes you just livid. What is this country coming to anyway.
greyhound2 on August 23 at 4:39 p.m.
Thank God for the Chinese. If it wasn’t for the Chinese, nobody in America would even have a refrigerator.
SpokyDaBear on August 23 at 4:59 p.m.
He should have worn his bicycle helmet.
RedCedar on August 24 at 8:40 a.m.
People should never allow drinking at a shooting party.
hardwroc on August 28 at 12:05 p.m.
People going to a drinking party to FIGHT someone, are fools, and if they end up getting shot, shouldn’t be surprised, THEY started trouble, and got the dirty end of the stick at the end.
I promise someone coming to MY house to assault someone will not have a happy ending. Assault is against the law, and defending ones home is NOT.
Just a thought.
And there were only two names for three people mentioned in the story. Details matter.
mistermenotyou on August 29 at 5:36 p.m.
@DEERBANDIT i can take care of myself i’m a much better shot than these infantile police i would never call the SPD if i was in a life threatening situation first off it would take them far tooo long to get there and would probably shoot me when they did get there the corruption in the region is far deeper than just the police force as for talk your theory of changing the department within is just that talk and alot of wishful thinking and a big giant WHAT IF your heart is the right place but backed with little knowledge