Chilly Dip Ends Downtown Chase Suspected Thief Ends Up In River After Eluding Security Guards

A suspected thief who bolted from security guards at a downtown department store was arrested Tuesday afternoon after taking a wild ride down the frigid Spokane River.

Chris LaFountain was in the swift, 40-degree flood waters for about 30 minutes, said police Cpl. Cliff Walter.

“A few more minutes in there, and he probably would have washed away and we wouldn’t have found him until summer,” Walter said.

LaFountain, 24, shook violently due to possible hypothermia as rescuers arrived.

“Help me, help me,” he pleaded as he clung to a log in a partially submerged thicket of trees near the north bank, halfway between the Monroe and Maple street bridges.

Scores of onlookers lined both sides of the river to watch the drama.

A security guard at The Bon Marche said LaFountain tried to purchase items using stolen checks about 3 p.m. When a clerk notified security, LaFountain ran outside with two guards in pursuit.

Two employees at the sidewalk coffee bar outside Nordstrom were about to join in, when the security guards yelled, “Don’t chase him! Don’t chase, he’s got pepper spray!”

Phil Nelson, one of the espresso workers, said LaFountain “dropped a bag of stuff and kept on running.”

Police chased him north across the Monroe Street Bridge. He then ran a steep embankment to the river.

“We believe that’s where he got in the water,” Walter said. “But we’re still not sure if he fell in by accident or deliberately got in there.”

Officers lost him until someone with binoculars following the action from an office building called police and guided them to the suspect’s hiding spot.

“At that point, he was still trying to hide and didn’t appear to be interested in being rescued,” Walter said.

Emergency crews arrived shortly after 4 p.m. and about 11/2 hours later persuaded LaFountain to surrender. They got him to shore using a personal watercraft.

LaFountain was taken to Sacred Heart Medical Center for treatment and released. He was booked into Spokane County Jail on suspicion of second-degree robbery and forgery.

He also had outstanding warrants for two assaults and a burglary, jail officials said.

At the time of the rescue, LaFountain wore a black shirt, black pants and sneakers. Walter and Lt. Al Odenthal said a badge was pinned to his shirt bearing the letters “AAA.”

The incident isn’t the first time a suspected thief has tried using the river to stage a getaway.

In December 1995, Darrell Dwayne Ravellette, 34, dove into the water in downtown Spokane when the outside temperature was 18 degrees. A Bon Marche security guard chased him there after watching Ravellette steal a jacket.

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