Man’s police call leads to own arrest in Liberty Lake

Liberty Lake police officers were dispatched to a few unusual calls the week of Nov. 26 to Dec. 3, ranging from a man who unwitting called the police on himself and another man who claimed someone on Facebook gave him permission to take a truck.

Someone called police at 2:30 p.m. on Nov. 26 to report a person driving a blue compact car in a portion of the Off Road Vehicle Park that is designated for ORVs and horses. Officers arrived to find the driver of the car spinning doughnuts in the trailer parking area. “He thought it was OK because his friends do it,” said police chief Brian Asmus. The 20-year-old Post Falls resident was given a citation for reckless driving and banned from the park.

A man in the 1200 block of Liberty Lake Road called police at 7:45 p.m. on Nov. 27 to complain that his car was being repossessed. Officers were able to determine that it was a lawful repossession, Asmus said. They also discovered that the 28-year-old Liberty Lake resident who called them was wanted on an arrest warrant for driving under the influence and driving without a valid operator’s license. He was booked into the Spokane County Jail.

Someone called police to the 23000 block of East Appleway Avenue at 11:50 a.m. to report that a man was breaking into his car while it was parked in a parking lot. The car’s owner told police he discovered the man lying on the seat and going through his wallet. The man inside the truck reportedly told police that a friend on Facebook told him to come to Liberty Lake to find a blue pickup truck with keys in it that he could use, Asmus said.

“When we asked why he was going through the guy’s wallet, he said he thought that was where the key might be,” Asmus said. “His story fell apart pretty quickly.”

The 57-year-old Spokane resident had driven his own car to the location and the car was impounded because it was on private property, Asmus said. He was arrested on a charge of vehicle prowling.

A teenage prank went wrong just before 10 p.m. on Friday in the 1200 block of North Ormond Road. A group of four teenage boys were spending the night at one of the boys’ homes when they decided to ring people’s doorbells and run away. One home had its basement window well covered with plastic, which was in turn covered by leaves. One of the boys fell through the plastic while running in the dark. The homeowner heard the commotion and thought the boys were trying to break in, Asmus said, calling it in as an attempted burglary.

Officers located one of the teens in the area of Boone Avenue and Molter Road and a second teen was hiding in the bushes nearby, Asmus said. The other two teens were found at the home where they were staying. The parents of all four teens were contacted and the four will be paying to repair the damage, Asmus said.

The department is continuing to investigate a report received last week that a manager at the Hawkstone Apartments may have been stealing the rent money paid by tenants, Asmus said. Tenants said he had recently begun insisting that they pay in cash, Asmus said. The man has reportedly been fired while the property owners try to determine how much money may be missing. “The initial reporting is in the six figures,” Asmus said.

Other calls included a trash-dumping complaint in the 19000 block of East Broadway Avenue, a fraud case and a man who said his departing roommate stole cash and a Sony PlayStation.

Officers arrested a 43-year-old Spokane man on arrest warrants for theft and assault. He was also charged with driving with a suspended license. There were four other arrests for driving with a suspended license during the week.

Officers handed out two citations for license and plates required, four for failure to show proof of liability insurance and four for speeding. Additional citations were given for following too close and speeding in a school zone.