Traffic Stop Ends In Arrest

Police arrested a South Side man Friday after he attempted to flee from officers who stopped him for speeding.

Police stopped Ocie Ray Rickie, 20, who gave his address as 1203 W. Eighth, about 1:15 a.m. Friday on East Third Avenue. Rickie had a suspended license and no registration or proof of insurance, said police spokesman Dick Cottam.

Richie bolted from the officer and ran south, around the Costco building, where he ran into a chain-link fence. The officer followed and took Richie into custody.

In searching him for weapons, police found a baggie of with a substance which tested positive for cocaine, Cottam said. Richie was booked into jail for possession of crack cocaine, resisting arrest and driving with a suspended license. He was cited for speeding and driving without insurance.

Man booked on drug charges, others

An Airway Heights man was arrested in Spokane Thursday night after police stopped him for a routine traffic infraction and found weapons and drug paraphernalia in his car.

Curtis E. Strandy, 34, was booked into jail after police found a 12-inch double-edged knife next to Strandy’s seat, along with two used glass crack pipes.

They also found a variety of burglary tools, two phone-access cards not in Strandy’s name, and several dozen other items including pieces of jewelry.

Strandy was booked on suspicion of possession of stolen property and possession of a controlled substance. A woman in the car with Strandy was not arrested.

Man charged with eluding deputies, drunk driving

With deputies surrounding his van, a man drank a beer as he sat waiting to be arrested after eluding a police vehicle Sunday night.

On a routine traffic stop, Deputy Walter Loucks pulled over Michael Peter Presta, 52, of Post Falls, as Presta was driving his van eastbound on Interstate 90 from Grove Road, said Sheriff’s spokesman Dave Reagan.

The suspect said he had no identification, but gave Loucks a name and date of birth. When the deputy returned to his patrol car to check the man’s license, Presta drove away eastbound.

He exited at Maple Street and headed for the downtown area. Presta stopped for some red lights, but drove through them if the deputy got close to him, Reagan said.

He then drove back onto the freeway, heading west. At the Geiger exit, Presta ran stop signs as he drove around the business park at the east end of Spokane International airport. He drove into a dead-end street, where deputies and a Washington State Patrol trooper boxed him in.

As deputies ordered Presta out of his vehicle, he sat watching them while drinking from a beer can, Reagan said. The suspect had to be forcibly removed from the van and handcuffed.

Presta was booked into Spokane County Jail on suspicion of attempting to elude a police vehicle, driving under the influence of alcohol, driving with license suspended, refusal to cooperate and resisting arrest.

No one was injured in the pursuit, nor was any property damaged, Reagan said.

Man with cell phone arrested

A Spokane man was arrested Saturday after allegedly taking a stolen cellular phone to a Radio Shack in the Spokane Valley Mall and trying to exchange it for cash.

The owner of the phone happened to be an employee at the store, according to police reports. Deputies arrested 46-year-old William M. Stanford, of 1824 S. Perry, on charges of trafficking in stolen property and possession of a controlled substance.

Deputies were called to the store just before 7 p.m. by a Radio Shack employee who recognized the cellular phone as the kind sometimes given as gifts to Radio Shack employees.

The clerk, deputies said, knew that a co-worker’s phone had been stolen about a month earlier.

Deputies later confirmed that the phone did belong to a Radio Shack employee.

Deputies arrested and searched Stanford. They found a syringe and a vial containing what they believed to be heroin in Stanford’s shirt pocket.