Suspected package thief arrested

Spokane Police arrested a man Wednesday afternoon they believe is responsible for the theft of several packages taken off people’s front porches recently.

On Tuesday police distributed a picture of an SUV that a witness reported was involved in a package theft in the Five Mile area. Tips from the public indicated that the SUV belonged to Billy S. Temple, 41, according to a police news release.

An officer spotted Temple driving the SUV in the 1700 block of East Boone Avenue late Wednesday morning. Temple refused to pull over and there was a brief chase that was terminated due to public safety concerns, police said.

A few minutes after the chase ended, a woman called 911 and said the SUV “in the news” was parked in front of her house in the 3700 block of East Longfellow. Temple was inside a nearby home and he surrendered after a brief standoff, the news release said. One of the stolen packages was recovered.

Temple, who has a lengthy criminal history, was arrested on suspicion of attempting to elude a police vehicle and on a Department of Corrections warrant for escape from community custody. Additional charges are pending.