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

61-year-old man arrested in Deer Park fatal shooting

From staff reports
A Deer Park man was shot to death at point-blank range answering pounding at his apartment door Saturday night, according to witnesses. Spokane County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Richard Klepacki, 61, hiding in the alcove of a middle school near 204 E. D St. Investigators say he and another man tried to break their way into the apartment where Harry “Ed” Giesbrecht was watching TV, then shot him once in the head before running away. The shooter and the victim didn’t speak to each other before the gun was fired, according to a witness. Giesbrecht was taken to Sacred Heart Medical Center where he died early Sunday, according to court documents. An official cause of death has not yet been released by the Medical Examiner, who is conducting an autopsy. Another man inside the apartment described the shooter as a white man, wearing a dark hoodie and a blue and white handkerchief covering his face. Deputies discovered Klepacki at the school wearing clothing matching the articles described by the eyewitness. Also found nearby was a gun holster secreted in juniper bushes. Deputies noted the holster was not covered in frost, despite the cold temperatures, according to court documents. Klepacki’s face was covered in streaks of fresh blood, according to investigators. He denied knowledge of the holster and said he didn’t own a handgun. He also denied ever visiting the 204 E. D St. address. Klepacki was booked into Spokane County Jail around 8 a.m. Sunday, just a few hours after Giesbrecht was pronounced dead. He appeared in court Monday afternoon on charges of first-degree murder, where prosecutors requested his bond set at half a million dollars. The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office said the homicide remains under investigation.