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

Sirens & Gavels

Police: Fight over $40 debt leads to shooting

A shooting in a Spokane apartment last weekend where two young children live landed a 44-year-old man in jail on an assault charge.

Robert T. Finkbeiner is accused of shooting Rachel A. Mitchell in her left leg during a fight over a $40 debt at 813 E. Sinto on Sunday.

Mitchell was visiting a friend when Finkbeiner confronted her about money he said her boyfriend, a Spokane County Jail inmate, owed him, according to court documents filed Wednesday. Mitchell told police Finkbeiner shot her in the left leg. Her friend's 3-year-old and 9-month-old children were in the room when he pulled the gun, police said.

Police learned of the case when Mitchell went to a hospital with a gunshot wound. She initially lied to investigators about what happened, according to court documents.

Finkbeiner was booked into jail Tuesday after police searched his apartment at 1924 W. Gardner. He appeared in Superior Court Wednesday on one count of first-degree assault.



Public safety news from the Inland Northwest and beyond.