Rape suspect seized in burning home

Spokane County sheriff’s deputies entered a burning mobile home early Wednesday and pulled out a rape suspect despite threats the man made with a knife and a homemade flame thrower. Sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Dave Reagan said in a news release that deputies were summoned to the home of David Wayne Jewell in Chattaroy after a teenager had reported Tuesday night the rape of an 11-year-old girl. Deputies arrived at 34100 N. Newport Highway about 1:20 a.m., Reagan said. Jewell remained in the home, but sent three children out the front door. “While deputies watched, Jewell took a cigarette lighter and aerosol can of some type and began setting fire to curtains, cabinets and blinds inside the kitchen and living area,” Reagan said in the release. When he refused to drop the items, a deputy shot Jewell with his Taser. The children removed from the home were released to the custody of a grandparent. The investigation is continuing, Reagan said.