Would-Be Car Jacker Flees After Cell Call Man Displays Knife To Woman Locked In Car

A woman who had a flat tire last week used a cell phone to thwart a would-be car jacker, Spokane police said.

The woman had pulled over on the Hamilton Street exit off Interstate 90 about 4 a.m. on April 19 and started to change the tire herself, police spokesman Dick Cottam said.

When she discovered she had no handle for the jack, she called a friend on her cell phone for help and got in her car to wait. Just to be safe, she locked the door.

She told police that while she was waiting, a scruffy-looking man approached and asked through the window if she needed help. When the woman hesitated, he pulled out a hunting knife and demanded her car keys and wallet.

She used her cell phone to call 911, and the man ran away, Cottam said.

The woman described the man as white, in his 40s, about 5-foot-9, 200 pounds, with a scraggly beard. He was wearing a black Harley-Davidson T-shirt and a tan baseball cap with the word “Huckleberry” on it.

Anyone with information on the suspect is asked to call Crime Check at 456-2233.

Pair fight off mugger

A man was assaulted about 1 p.m. April 18 on Spokane Falls Boulevard at Howard Street, Cottam said.

The victim told police he was approached by a man who asked for a cigarette.

When the victim refused, he said he was grabbed in a headlock by the assailant.

The victim told police the mugger attempted to reach into his pocket, but another pedestrian came to the victim’s assistance, and the two fought off the assault, Cottam said. The assailant ran south on Washington.

One of the victims was taken to an area hospital with minor injuries.

The assailant was described as a white male between 20 and 30 years old, about 6 feet tall, with brown, shoulder-length hair and a ponytail, a goatee and bad teeth.

Anyone with information on the alleged mugger is asked to call Crime Check, 456-2233.