Birthday Celebrant Robbed, Assaulted

A man and a woman assaulted another man who had been celebrating his birthday in a downtown tavern Saturday night and Sunday morning, according to Spokane police.

The victim, who turned 24 on Sunday, gave police this description of events:

He was walking home about 12:30 a.m. Sunday when a couple passed him near the DoubleTree Hotel on Spokane Falls Boulevard. As they passed, the victim was hit in the face and knocked to the ground.

The man began going through the victim’s pockets, and when the victim resisted, the woman jumped on him, and both began kicking him. They left with his wallet, and the man walked home, where he called police.

Spokane police spokesman Dick Cottam said officers later found one of the victim’s credit cards from his wallet in the possession of 27-year-old Sandy I. Peterson. Police found the card when they stopped Peterson in an unrelated matter.

Peterson, who gave no address, was booked into jail on a first-degree robbery charge.

Pair booked in window smashing

Spokane police arrested two teenage boys early Sunday after a South Hill resident reported his car window had been smashed.

Police spokesman Dick Cottam said the boys told police they had just learned how to break out car windows and were trying the method out when they were caught.

Officers responding to the 1000 block of East 32nd Avenue just after midnight found the broken window and the vehicle owner, Cottam said. A friend had awakened the owner and reported that the damage had just occurred. When the owner went out to investigate, Cottam said, a primer-painted Honda the owner believed was involved made a U-turn a block away and drove past the scene.

Police obtained a description of the vehicle and began searching the neighborhood, Cottam said. Police also called security officers at the Silver Lanes Bowling Casino at 28th Avenue, about four blocks from the scene.

Security officers found the Honda in the casino parking lot, Cottam said, and witnesses identified the driver and his passenger.

Cottam said the 16-year-old passenger admitted to police that he had broken the window with a technique he said he learned from school buddies. He said he broke the glass, valued at more than $250, “just to try it out.”

The driver of the suspect car was 18-year-old Christopher W. Gibbs, 3501 S. Loretta, Cottam said.

Both Gibbs and the 16-year-old were booked on a charge of second-degree malicious mischief, a felony.

Cash stolen from West Plains home

A young couple living in a mobile home on the West Plains reported that their bill money for the month was stolen.

The couple, in their 20s, told the Spokane Sheriff’s Office that a black leather briefcase containing more than $1,000 cash earmarked for bills had been stolen Sunday between 10:30 a.m. and noon, said sheriff’s spokesman Dave Reagan.

The couple said they locked up the home at 7100 S. Spotted Road before leaving, but a deputy did not find signs of a forced entry, Reagan said.