Police Find Carjacking Suspect Using Big Bush As Hiding Spot

A man suspected of forcibly stealing a car Sunday night was found and arrested by Spokane police an hour later on the South Hill, Cottam said.

The two victims told police they were driving on Division Street about 11 p.m. Sunday when the driver stopped at the Zip Trip restaurant on Augusta to use the restroom, Cottam said. His passenger remained in the car, and the driver left the motor running and the driver-side door open.

The passenger told police a man suddenly jumped into the driver’s seat and ordered him out of the car, Cottam said. When the passenger hesitated, the man reached to his waistband and indicated he had a weapon.

The passenger got out, and the man drove away.

One hour later, another officer spotted a car speeding at Fourth and Altamont and turned on his overhead lights, Cottam said. The car sped away, finally stopping in an alley near Lee and Fourth Avenue, where the driver jumped from the car and ran, Cottam said.

The officer recognized the vehicle as the one carjacked earlier. The driver had been described as armed and dangerous.

The officer found the suspect hiding in a large bush in a yard near Stone and Fourth and took him into custody. The passenger identified him as the carjacker, Cottam said.

The suspect refused to give police his name or other information, and he was booked into jail on a second-degree robbery charge as John Doe. Later, the suspect was identified as 34-year old Darin Dewitt Wheeler.

Wheeler has 16 convictions as an adult, including two for assault.

Teen points handgun at police

When police responded to a report of a stabbing on the South Hill last week, they instead found a disturbed boy who apparently wanted to goad officers into killing him.

A teenage boy called 911 about 10 p.m. last Thursday and said his brother was in their house with a stab wound, Cottam said.

Three officers arrived at the mobile home in the 2000 block of South Inland Empire Way, but as they approached, they heard a male voice threaten to kill them and observed that the barrel of a handgun was pointed at them from a window, Cottam said. The person said he had a bomb strapped to his chest.

The officers took cover and yelled for the person to drop the gun, Cottam said.

All three had their weapons drawn and pointed toward the window where the gun and a man were visible. They also called for several members of the department’s SWAT team.

“They could have shot him through the window, but to their credit they did not,” Cottam said.

After about 15 minutes, however, and before SWAT officers arrived, a 16-year-old boy came out of the mobile home and surrendered. He admitted he had no brother, that there had been no stabbing, and that he had made the call to bring a police response.

He did not have a bomb, but officers found collected together inside the home a loaded .380 semiautomatic handgun, a pellet rifle, a knife and a suicide note.

The 16-year-old was taken into custody and booked into Juvenile Detention on a first-degree assault charge.

Police Chief Roger Bragdon commended the officers for the handling of the case, Cottam said. He noted that this was a typical “suicide by cop” scenario faced by police several times each year.

Police could not immediately confirm who owned the gun.