Police Arrest, Book Woman For Assault Of A Child

A Spokane woman was arrested by police after she kicked a baby in the head at a North Side apartment Saturday night.

The mother of the 8-month-old girl told officers she allowed Tamara K. Pegram - a woman who lives in her apartment building at 2914 N. Hogan - to use the phone at 11 p.m., said police spokesman Dick Cottam.

The mother said Pegram appeared to have a dispute on the phone.

Pegram swore and then hung up. She started to leave the apartment and the infant was playing near the door, he said.

The mother told police Pegram kicked the infant in the side of the head and left. The child was examined at a local hospital and released. Police arrested Pegram, 20, at her own apartment and booked her into jail on assault of a child.

Man arrested for pawn thefts

A Chewelah, Wash., man was arrested for first-degree theft and trafficking in stolen property last week after detectives learned he’d stolen jewelry from the pawn shop where he worked and sold it at another.

Michael D. Hastings, 24, was booked into the Spokane County Jail on felony charges Jan. 13. He had been employed at Double Eagle Pawn in Deer Park, said sheriff’s spokesman Dave Reagan.

The owner of Double Eagle discovered a gold and diamond ring missing from the display counter and learned that Hastings had pawned a similar ring at Pawn 1 in the Spokane Valley, Reagan said.

The Double Eagle owner went there and discovered that four rings had been pawned by Hastings for $400, then later sold to the business for another $600, he said.

All four rings had been taken from the Deer Park pawn shop and were estimated to be worth $3,000.

Hiding man pounces

A woman who had just parked in her carport was robbed by a man hiding behind a 10-foot high hedge at 6:15 p.m. on Jan. 12.

As she stepped from her car in the 3800 block of East Buckeye, the man grabbed her purse and ran west from the area, said police spokesman Dick Cottam.

The robber was described as a black male in his 20s, about 5-feet-7 inches tall, with a light complexion. The woman was uninjured.

Police searched the area but found no suspect.

Later, on Thursday, police received another report of a robber waiting near a garage and stealing a woman’s purse as she parked.

The victim told police she had just pulled into her garage in the 3600 block of North Ash about 9:15 p.m. She turned off the engine and started to leave when a young man appeared, grabbed her black, leather purse and ran, Cottam said.

The strong-arm robber ran through the alley between Gordon and Kiernan and out of sight. He was described as white, in his 20s, wearing a dark stocking cap and a checkered jacket, he said.

The victim, in her 80s, was not injured.

Finally, a third strong-armed robber wrestled a purse away from a woman who was parking her car in the 2400 block of North Morton at 6:15 p.m. on Saturday.

The robber was described as a black male in his mid-20s, about 6 feet tall.

Anyone with information about these crimes is asked to call Crime Check at 456-2233.