Vacationers Visited By Voracious Vermin

Ed and Kati Kelly returned from their Fairwood Park Home after a week of skiing in Canada to find it vandalized.

Plants were knocked over, the living-room curtains were shredded, and the curtain ropes were frayed.

But what tipped off the Kellys that their unwanted visitor wasn’t human was “the little droppings everywhere,” Kati Kelly said.

A squirrel, whom the Kellys believe entered the house through the chimney, ransacked their living room and kitchen in search of food.

“We feed them off the back deck just about everyday,” Kelly said. “It’s probably our fault. The little guy was probably just looking for peanuts.”

And he - or she - found them.

Peanuts, shells and squirrel droppings littered the floor and furniture when the couple returned home on Feb. 21. The squirrel also chewed on wood surrounding a sliding-glass door, a section of a book case and a valuable chair.

The Kellys found the squirrel in a kitchen window and, after opening every door in the house, managed to set their little vandal free.

Unfortunately for the Kellys, their homeowners insurance doesn’t cover vermin damage.

“You’d better believe we’re looking for a new insurance company,” she said.

Nervous suspect busted

Officers responded to Belt and Cleveland at 3:45 a.m. Sunday where someone reported a car repeatedly honking its horn. An officer talked with the man sitting in the driver’s seat, who identified himself as David J. Wilson.

Wilson, 26, had no driver’s license, police spokesman Dick Cottam said.

Police reported that Wilson was nervous and “kept concealing his hands.” The officer saw a survival knife next to the driver, Cottam said.

The officer had Wilson leave the car when he learned there was a warrant for his arrest. A bag with a white substance fell from Wilson’s lap and onto the ground after he left the vehicle, Cottam said.

The substance tested positive as methamphetamine and Wilson was booked into jail on the warrant and for possession of a controlled substance, Cottam said. Wilson gave his address as 1724 W. Augusta.

Man arrested for burglary attempts

Spokane police arrested a man suspected of attempting to burglarize two Chinese restaurants early on the morning of Feb. 25.

Officers responded to the Tung Loon Garden, 3627 N. Division at 4:27 a.m. Nine minutes later they received a burglar alarm report from the Kay Lon Garden, 2819 N. Division, police spokesman Dick Cottam said.

Officers spotted a man sitting on the sidewalk at Atlantic and Cleveland. Officers questioned the man, who told them he was Robert E. Reed of 915 S. Pines.

Reed, who turned 30 that day, was wanted on an outstanding warrant and placed under arrest, Cottam said.

Police found a 12-inch screwdriver on Reed, and it matched pry marks on the doors of both restaurants. It also had red and white paint on the blade, colors matching the door trim of each restaurant, he said.

Police found another man in a parked car at Atlantic and Division, and he told police Reed was giving him a ride home, but stopped twice and left the car near the restaurants. He said he did not know about the burglaries and police released him.

Reed was booked into jail on the warrant and two counts of attempted second-degree burglary.

Messiah Lutheran Church robbed

Someone broke into a North Side church early on the morning of Wednesday, Feb. 25, or late the night before, and stole computer equipment.

An employee of the Messiah Lutheran Church, 4202 N. Belt, found the church had been entered. Police said there was an open window and the burglar kicked open an office door, according to police spokesman Dick Cottam.

Police are still investigating.

, DataTimes