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

Intruder Reportedly Rapes Woman, Flees

A Spokane Valley woman was raped after interrupting a burglary in her home last week.

The 21-year-old woman had returned to the house on the 6700 block of East Eighth about 7:30 p.m. last Thursday, said sheriff’s Lt. Clyde Ries. The woman went to the back of the house to let the dog out and smoke a cigarette, Ries said, then went to take a shower.

The back door was left unlocked.

After the shower, the woman changed her clothes and walked into the kitchen. There was a man standing in the dining room.

She gave the intruder some money and asked him to leave, but he tore her clothes off and raped her. When he left, the woman called 911.

A police dog tracked the rapist but did not find him, Ries said.

He is described as a white man, 6 feet tall, 170 pounds, between the ages of 25 and 30. He had shoulderlength brown hair pulled back in a pony tail and was unshaven. He wore a black T-shirt and jeans.

Man arrested on drug charges

A Spokane man was arrested on drug charges after trying to get away from sheriff’s deputies in the Valley last Saturday morning.

William E. Brinton, 30, of 914 W. Mansfield, No. 1, faces charges of attempting to elude, possession of a controlled substance and driving while license suspended.

Two deputies pulled Brinton over about 5 a.m. after checking the license on Brinton’s Oldsmobile and finding the owner had warrants out for his arrest, Ries said.

Brinton pulled over in the parking lot of the Plantation Restaurant, 8122 E. Sprague, and handed over a Washington identification card when deputies asked for his license.

The police computer revealed Brinton’s license was suspended. When the deputies returned to Brinton’s car and asked him to step out, he swore at them and took off, Ries said. The deputies chased Brinton south on Vista into a trailer park, where Brinton crashed into a fence and ran from the car.

The deputies searched his car and found a loaded handgun, a doubleedged knife, drug paraphernalia, including a syringe, razor blades and a spoon, and a substance that later tested positive for cocaine, Ries said.

Brinton was eventually caught and arrested.

Pillage continues on trail

Sheriff’s deputies report six more incidents of cars being vandalized and property stolen on the Centennial Trail since last Friday.

Since August, more than 130 cars have been broken into along the trail, said Sgt. Ron Ethridge. Three detectives from another unit have been reassigned to follow-up all reports of break-ins along the trail since the area has been so hard hit.

On Feb. 27, a car was broken into at the trail entrance near Euclid and Pines. A day earlier, a vandal struck on Upriver, near Plante’s Ferry. Two cars parked at trail entrance at Flora were hit on Feb. 24.

Among the items stolen were cash and credit cards, Ethridge said.

Deputies encourage anyone using the trail to either take valuables with them or leave them at home.

“It’s not a question of when you’re going to get hit,” Ethridge said. “You’re going to get hit.”