Liberty Lake blotter: Locked, unlocked vehicles hit by thieves

A rash of vehicle prowls has kept the Liberty Lake Police Department busy. Some residents are finding their unlocked cars ransacked while a few have had to deal with broken-out car windows.

The first report for the week of June 6-13 came in the afternoon of June 6 from the 1000 block of South Wright Road. The location is outside the city limits but police took the report when the resident discovered a check stolen from his car in May had been cashed at the Washington Trust Bank in Liberty Lake, said Police Chief Brian Asmus. A suspect has been identified, he said.

Someone took beer from a beverage service golf cart at the Palenque Restaurant on Liberty Lake Road sometime the morning of June 6 or the evening of June 5. The next vehicle prowl call on the morning of June 9 also involved a theft that had occurred in May. A resident in the 25000 block of East Pinepoint Court reported that a notebook computer, cellphone charger and digital voice recorder were stolen from an unlocked car.

Four vehicle prowls were reported on June 12 and three of those were in the 900 block of North Wright Road. A car stereo was stolen from one car and fingerprints were recovered in that case, Asmus said. A truck had its window smashed in and baseball equipment was stolen. The third call in that block reported a missing stereo faceplate from an unlocked car. The fourth call of the day was from the 23100 block of East Boone Avenue. A resident reported that his car window was broken, but it did not appear that anything was missing, Asmus said.

A woman in the 21000 block of Country Vista Drive called police the morning of June 12 to report that her husband had assaulted her. The woman, who was pregnant, told police that he had punched and choked her, Asmus said. The man was arrested for domestic violence assault.

A man who stole gas from a station at Appleway Boulevard and Barker Road at 4 a.m. on June 12 picked the wrong direction to escape when he drove toward Liberty Lake. A Liberty Lake officer spotted the man on the eastbound I-90 off ramp and arrested him, Asmus said.

The week also included two arrests for driving with a suspended license. Officers wrote four citations for license and plates required and two for use of a cellphone. Additional citations were given for failure to show proof of liability insurance, defective muffler, illegal use of studded tires, failure to obey a traffic control device and failure to wear a safety belt.