Escaped Convict Found Hiding In Attic

Tue., March 14, 2000

Brian D. Lorentzen, an escaped convict, was arrested at a South Hill home Sunday evening by the Washington State Patrol and Spokane County Sheriff’s deputies.

A cab driver contacted a deputy Sunday afternoon and informed the officer that a previous passenger told him the whereabouts of Lorentzen, who escaped from Geiger Corrections Center on Jan. 13.

State troopers and deputies later converged on 3114 E. 17th, where three people immediately fled the home. All were arrested on various outstanding warrants, the state patrol said.

A stolen vehicle found parked in the driveway was seized.

The owner of the home gave officers permission to conduct a search, the state patrol said.

Lorentzen was found in the attic and another person was hiding in a closet.

Lorentzen had been serving a sentence for possessing stolen property, drug possession and driving with a suspended license.

Mike Pannek, Geiger’s director, said Lorentzen, 24, ran off two months ago when he was being transported to an interview with a public defender.

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