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

Apartment Fire Forces Evacuation

Emi Endo Staff writer

A fire at an apartment complex early Saturday morning caused about $35,000 worth of damage.

Firefighters arrived at 10101 E. Main at about 4:50 a.m. and saw a column of black smoke and flames rising from the north side of the apartment complex.

They evacuated the complex and put out the blaze.

A bed or some bedding in one of the units caught on fire when it was up against a baseboard heater, said inspector Eric Olson.

Fire spread from that unit to the one next to it and another above. Smoke damaged other units.

Power lines to the apartment complex had been burned through on the north side of the complex.

Fire crews were later called back to the complex to investigate smoldering material.

They extinguished a small piece of fiberglass insulation smoldering on the sidewalk shortly before 9 a.m.

Man robbed in parking lot

A man told authorities he was robbed in a parking lot behind a Valley exotic dance club early Monday morning.

He was in the parking lot south of Dejavu, 8722 E. Sprague, at about 1:30 a.m., when a man approached him, asking for change. The man then brandished a handgun and took his wallet and car keys, said sheriff’s Lt. David Wiyrick.

The robber was seen headed east on East First Avenue in a red Geo Metro. A sheriff’s deputy and a Washington State Patrol trooper stopped a vehicle of that description a short time later on the 10800 block of East Mission.

Anthony R. Sturgess, 19, 214 E. Bridgeport, was taken into custody. A handgun, which had been reported stolen in Spokane, was recovered, deputies said.

Further investigation led to the arrest of three other people who were allegedly with the gunman at the time of the robbery.

Willie J. Richardson, 20, of Deer Park, a 16-year-old Valley girl and a 17-year-old Spokane boy were also charged with armed robbery.

Richardson was also arrested for two outstanding traffic warrants, sheriff’s Lt. David Wiyrick said.

Store robbed, clerk assaulted

A man robbed a grocery store and assaulted an employee early Tuesday morning.

Deputies responded to a robbery call at Safeway, 1441 N. Argonne, at about 4:30 a.m.

Employees told authorities that a man had entered the store, picked up a bottle of soda and approached the checkout stand.

When the clerk opened the cash register to accept payment, the man struck him in the face with the bottle and knocked him to the floor, Wiyrick said.

The robber then grabbed money from the cash register and ran off.

The clerk and another employee chased the bandit, but did not catch him.

The robber is described as a black man, with a thin mustache and goatee, about 26 years old, 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds. He was wearing baggy black sweat pants, a blue sweatshirt and a dark blue cap.

Theft witness threatened

A gun was brandished in a confrontation Saturday following the theft of gasoline.

Someone drove off without paying for gasoline at the Chevron station at Sullivan on Mission at about 6 p.m., Wiyrick said.

A witness to the incident followed after the vehicle to Broadway and Vista, then pulled up alongside the car.

A white male passenger pulled a semiautomatic handgun from between the seats.

Deputies said the driver is described as a white female, about 300 pounds, with long brown hair and missing teeth.

Greenacres man arrested

Deputies arrested a Greenacres man after a burglary early Monday morning.

The burglary took place at an apartment on the 13500 block of East Mission shortly before 3 a.m.

A witness heard a crash, noticed an open apartment door and saw someone leaving, deputies said. No one was home during the burglary.

Deputies spotted a suspect close to the scene, carrying property stolen in the burglary.

Mark C. Meredith, 32, 2120 N. Flora, Greenacres, was booked into Spokane County Jail for residential burglary.

Dog house burns

A faulty heat lamp caused a fire in a large dog house Monday, said fire officials.

Firefighters extinguished the fire on the 13500 block of East Rich at about 11:25 a.m. No one was home.

A dog and her four puppies left the dog house unharmed when it caught on fire, said Capt. John Fredrick. “They were standing around in the pen,” he said. A neighbor put them in another shed.

The heat lamp was used to keep the puppies warm.

Damage estimated at about $50 was limited to the dog house and the back side of an old wood fence.

Man arrested for theft

A restaurant employee is accused of stealing money from the business.

Deputies arrested a worker at Frontier West, 11105 E. Sprague, on Sunday. An employee allegedly used a key to enter the restaurant after hours, then took cash and checks from the safe and cash registers.

David Jason Wilson, 23, 229 E. Augusta, was booked into Spokane County Jail for first degree theft.