Man Accused Of Taking Tools From Pickup

Police arrested a man on a theft charge after two people reported his whereabouts, Spokane police said.

The two people, whom police did not identify, watched a man remove items from a metal toolbox in the bed of a pickup truck in a Safeway parking lot about 3 p.m. Monday afternoon, said police spokesman Dick Cottam.

The witnesses told police that the man acted furtively, looking around constantly as he removed tools and placed them in a blue duffel bag.

The pair saw the man pick up the bag and walk from the supermarket at 1500 W. Third to a nearby tavern, Cottam said. The witnesses followed, and one called police on his cellular phone.

Police arrived at the tavern, and the bartender said a man had tried to sell some tools at the bar, then asked for a cab, Cottam said. Officers checked the cab dispatcher and learned the taxi had just dropped off the man at Pawn One at Main and Division.

Responding police found 32-year-old Norman G. Sumner, 508 S. Monroe, with a duffel bag and tools spread on the counter and floor. Sumner was taken into custody, Cottam said.

Several witnesses, including the two conscientious citizens, identified Sumner. The driver of the pickup identified the tools, valued at about $750, as his property, which had been locked in the toolbox, Cottam said.

Sumner was booked into jail on a second-degree theft charge.

Boy accused of theft

A pre-teenage boy was arrested by police for allegedly stealing a purse from a car in the 3000 block of East 18th Avenue Monday night, Cottam said.

The owner told officers she and a friend were moving her things from an apartment at that location, and she had left the purse in the unlocked car, Cottam said.

The purse contained her checkbook, a debit card, two credit cards and a cellular phone. When the woman returned to the car and discovered the theft, she began canvassing the neighborhood and found an 11-year-old boy hiding with the purse, Cottam said.

She held him while police were called, Cottam said.

Officers booked the 11-year-old into the Juvenile Detention Center for second-degree theft. The boy lives a few blocks from the area where the car prowling occurred, Cottam said.

Pair apprehend suspect

Two South Side residents captured a man Friday morning who they suspected of breaking into cars in the Manito and Rockwood neighborhoods, police said.

A prowler was spotted breaking into a car at 4:30 a.m. by a woman nursing her baby, Cottam said. The woman called her neighbor, the car’s owner, who chased and captured a man with the help of another neighbor.

Responding officers identified the suspect as 22-year-old Joshua N. Tangedahl, 825 E. 18th. Cottam said police believe Tangedahl was involved in the entry of six cars in two nights.

Police found a backpack they believe the suspect dropped while being chased by the neighbors. It contained two flashlights, a car stereo, a radar detector, two cans of soft drink and two bags of potato chips, most of which had been taken from the cars, Cottam said.

Tangedahl was booked into jail on six counts of vehicle prowling.

`Helper’ steals purse

A woman seeking help on the Fourth of July had her purse stolen by a “good Samaritan,” Cottam said.

This is how the woman described the theft to police:

The woman was at a party Monday night and had been driven to her residence in the area of 12th and Cedar about 3:30 a.m. When she got to her front door, she discovered she didn’t have her keys.

She started walking to a convenience store to use a phone.

She was upset and crying, and a car pulled up and stopped. A woman in the passenger seat asked if she could help, and the victim explained her dilemma.

The stranger offered the use of her cellular phone. The woman took the phone, called a friend and handed the phone back.

Suddenly the stranger reached for the victim’s purse, grabbed the strap and told the driver to take off. The car pulled away, and the strap broke and the passenger escaped with the purse.

Cottam said the thief was described as a white female in her mid-20s with brown hair. The car was a light colored two-door with visible rust, possibly a 1980 Toyota.

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