Six shots fired at truck in Wednesday drive-by shooting

A man was arrested Wednesday after he allegedly shot his his ex-girfriend’s truck in north Spokane.

Witnesses told police that a white Honda was seen driving slowly in the 3800 block of East Euclid right before the shooting and sped away after the shots were fired, according to court documents. The vehicle was stopped 10 minutes after the incident with two men.

One of the men, Anthony R. Lazanis, was armed with a .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol that is registered to Lazanis’ father, according to court documents.

The driver of the vehicle told police that Lazanis instructed him to pull up next to the truck and then Lazanis fired at the vehicle six times. He claimed he did not know what Lazanis planned to do.

Lazanis’ former girlfriend told police that she received a text from Lazanis immediately after the shooting that she “caused the incident,” according to court records. Police recovered six .45 caliber shell casings from the scene.

Lazanis was convicted of vehicular homicide and hit and run (injury or death) in 1997 after a 1996 crash that killed a 16-year-old girl. He was sentenced to two years in prison but was in jail for only five months.

The bond for Lazanis, 39, was set at $100,000 during a brief court appearance Thursday. He is facing a charge of drive-by shooting.