Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Crowd attacks man after he claims he killed someone

A man arrested Wednesday after allegedly pointing a fake assault rifle and claiming he was a police officer also allegedly bragged about shooting another man at the Howard Johnson hotel on North Division Street.

Anthony P. Brower’s claim of being involved in the fatal shooting of Richard Amodio on Sunday resulted in him being chased into a Wal-Mart store on Monday night and beaten by a large group of people, police said.

Brower, 18, had a black eye from the fight when he appeared in court Thursday to face a charge of residential burglary. He was ordered held on $30,000 bond.

Several witnesses told police they saw Brower in the area of 8900 N. Colton St. Wednesday evening pointing an assault rifle at people as he rode a bike through the neighborhood.

An investigation revealed that Brower had broken into a nearby apartment and stolen several items prior to his threatening behavior, police say. A witness reported seeing him inside the apartment that was burglarized.

The assault rifle was an Airsoft gun, according to court documents.

His public defender asked Spokane County Superior Court Judge Greg Sypolt to consider releasing Brower under pretrial monitoring based on his strong ties to the community. As his attorney made the request, Brower theatrically clasped his hands as if in prayer and nodded his head eagerly.

The prosecuting attorney in the case said in court that police reported Brower had been “the focus of problems for three of the last four nights.”

On Monday night police received a report of a fight at the Wal-Mart at 9212 N. Colton St. just after 11 p.m. When police arrived they found numerous customers and store employees in the parking lot. Brower told police that he had been chased inside the store by a group of people he didn’t know and was assaulted, according to a police report on the incident.

Another person arrested at the Wal-Mart store, 17-year-old Kelsey E. Foote, reportedly told police that she and several other people had assaulted Brower because he had bragged about shooting her uncle, Amodio.

Five people involved in the Wal-Mart melee were charged with first-degree burglary, although police said they didn’t take anything from the store. Besides Kelsey Foote they are: Jaimz H. Davis, 17; Garrett A. Foote, 19; Darius C. McGhee, 43; and Tyler J. Chapman, 20. Davis and Kelsey Foote also face charges of second-degree assault; both were charged as adults. Three other juveniles were cited for riot and malicious mischief.

The investigation into the killing of Amodio is continuing, said Spokane police spokeswoman Monique Cotton, adding that no evidence points to Brower as a suspect.