In brief: Teen theft suspect was shot in the back

The 14-year-old who was shot while trying to burglarize a marijuana grow room in Medical Lake was struck in the back, according to a search warrant.

The boy, who was in satisfactory condition after undergoing surgery to remove a .45-caliber bullet, ran from the room in the 600 block of North Grant Street early Monday with another 14-year-old boy after the homeowner, Justin J. Brown, yelled something similar to “what are you doing in my house?” according to a search warrant filed in Spokane County Superior Court.

The boys dropped baseball bats, a screwdriver and a flashlight and ran just before a shot was fired and one of them dropped to the ground with a bullet wound to his lower back. Brown told police he awoke to a burglar alarm and “fired once at figures inside” the grow room after seeing someone move, according to the warrant.

Brown told police he chased after the intruders and found the shot boy sitting in the backyard about 15 feet from the room’s door. His wife called police.

Brown told police he grew marijuana in the room but stopped when his medical authorization expired, according to the warrant.

Investigators with the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office will forward their investigation to the prosecutor’s office for a decision on whether to charge Brown.

Meghann M. Cuniff

Salvation Army given gold buffalo coin

For the third year in a row, the Salvation Army of Spokane found a golden gift in a donation kettle.

A donor Friday dropped a 2007 gold buffalo $50 coin wrapped in a $100 bill in bell ringer Ted Morris’ kettle at the Wandermere Fred Meyer, the same place the coins have been left in the past.

The coin is valued at $1,607, according to a news release from the Salvation Army of Spokane.

“My goal is to have one in every pot,” said Capt. Kyle Smith of The Salvation Army of Spokane, which needs about $40,000 more to meet its goal.

Gold coins and other valuables have been popping up in the Salvation Army’s red kettles around the nation, including a 1983 South African Krugerrand coin worth about $1,600 in Fort Meyers, Fla.

Staff report