Jail regular back to his old haunt

Eddie Ray Hall has gone to a place where everybody knows him: jail.

The notorious Spokane Valley criminal was arrested early Wednesday, one month after being released from prison.

“Everybody knows him on a first name basis,” said Spokane County Jail Commander Dick Collins.

At 40, Hall has more than a dozen adult felony convictions, mostly for burglarizing Spokane Valley homes and businesses. He has been arrested at least 48 times and has been convicted of numerous misdemeanors.

Hall was jailed Wednesday on suspicion of felony possession of methamphetamine and possession of stolen property. During a strip search, Hall allegedly grabbed a small bag from his groin area and swallowed it, according to a Spokane Valley Police Department press release. Hall was taken to the hospital, but said he didn’t want medical treatment, according to the press release.

Hall had some memorable criminal escapades. In 1987 he was shot by a private investigator during a break-in attempt. In 1994 Hall escaped from a bailiff at the courthouse and was on the lam for two days. In 2001, his then-girlfriend was arrested for trying to mail him heroin in jail.

Hall has cost taxpayers approximately $1 million, including money spent on incarceration, surgeries and public defenders, according to a Spokesman-Review article written in 1998. Shortly after the article, in which Hall said he’d given up his life of crime, he was arrested for breaking into a Spokane Valley home that had recently been remodeled. The homeowner estimated the loss at more than $45,000. Hall was convicted and finished serving six years for that burglary on Oct. 7.

Hall is considered a career criminal by law enforcement. Hall’s crimes, which typically involve burglaries, don’t count under the state’s “three strikes you’re out” law, which applies to violent crimes.

“He’s kind of a little, one-man crime wave,” was how Cpl. Dave Reagan, spokesman for the Spokane Valley Police Department, described him Wednesday.

In court records, Hall has blamed drugs for his past misdeeds.

Hall’s arrest on Wednesday came after he was stopped at 3:30 a.m. for allegedly speeding in a van down East Euclid Avenue. Hall had no driver’s license, so Spokane Valley Officer Jeff Thurman arrested him and searched the van. He found a scale with methamphetamine residue on it as well as a credit card reported stolen Monday, police said. A man had left his wallet unattended and someone took it while he was at the Spokane Convention Center, police said.

Hall told police he lives at 17920 E. Boone Ave.

John Grasso, supervisor of the Spokane County Prosecutor’s drug crimes unit, was told Wednesday morning that Hall had been arrested. Grasso hasn’t seen the paperwork on Hall’s most recent arrest, but said Hall will face charges as soon as possible.

“The fact that it’s Eddie Ray Hall, it was brought to our attention right away based on his criminal history,” Grasso said.