Deputies arrest suspect in killing of 15-year-old Spokane Valley boy

Deputies have arrested a suspect in the killing of a 15-year-old University High School student outside his family’s Spokane Valley apartment March 29.

A SWAT team assisted deputies in arresting 19-year-old Stephen H. Yohler around 1:40 p.m. Thursday on the 500 block of South Coach Street in Spokane Valley, according to a news release from the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office.

Yohler was booked into the Spokane County Jail on suspicion of first-degree murder as authorities searched his home, the release said.

Preston Grzogorek, killed in the March 29 shooting in the 9700 block of East Sixth Avenue, was “a friend to everyone,” his Aunt Jamie Grzogorek wrote in a statement from the family.

Grzogorek had weathered rough teen years after his father died two years ago but family remained the most important thing in his life, his aunt wrote.

“He had a heart of gold, especially when it came to his grandmother, and sister which was also his best friend,” his aunt wrote. “Words can not express how unfair and unjustified the loss of Preston is,” the family wrote.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the charge Yohler will likely face.