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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Geiger escapee back in custody

Compiled from staff reports The Spokesman-Review

Steven J. Sivertsen, a wanted felon since allegedly kicking out a window and escaping from a Geiger Corrections van on April 6, was captured Monday by Spokane Valley Police.

Police went to an apartment complex at 4405 E. Fifth about 5:15 p.m. Monday, after receiving a tip that the suspect and several female acquaintances were inside a vacant apartment on the second floor of the complex, according to a press release from Cpl. Dave Reagan.

An officer heard a commotion in the back bedroom and found Sivertsen, 34, hiding in a closet, Reagan wrote. Although the suspect was initially compliant with orders to lie on the floor, Reagan said he violently resisted handcuffs, and was shot with a Taser stun gun.

Sivertsen was wanted on a misdemeanor arrest warrant for first-degree driving with no valid operator’s license and a felony arrest warrant charging him with possession of a controlled substance. He was also wanted on probable cause for his April 6 escape.

Sivertsen was booked back into the Spokane County Jail. His first appearance will likely be today.

The correct spelling of the suspect’s last name is uncertain; authorities have used three different spellings at different times. One spelling is believed to be an alias, Reagan wrote.

Teen arrested after explosive found

A 15-year-old South Hill teenager was arrested and charged with manufacturing an “improvised explosive device” without a license Monday after he was confronted by authorities at Lewis and Clark High School.

Spokane Public Schools officials would not confirm that the boy has been expelled from school, as police Lt. S.L. Mullennix said is the case.

The Spokane Police Explosive Disposal Unit searched the boy’s home in the 1000 block of E. 26th Avenue on Monday night and found a small metal cylinder with a fuse that was filled with black powder, Mullennix said.

The device, known as a “cricket” and wrapped in duct tape, was described by police spokesman Dick Cottam as “no bigger than a matchbox.”

According to Mullennix, the teenager left a notebook open on his school desk Monday morning, with bomb-making instructions from “The Anarchist Cookbook.” The book, first published in 1971, remains popular and easily accessible through Internet sites.

Mullennix said another student told school authorities about the notebook.

Police questioned the boy at LC, and he led them to his house. Mullennix said the parents were “very cooperative” as police obtained a search warrant and found the device in the boy’s bedroom.

“He didn’t threaten anyone. He didn’t take it to school, but he apparently has made other ones and set it off,” Cottam said.

He was charged with a Class C felony.

Man, teen jailed after pair of robberies

A man and teenager were arrested Sunday night after they allegedly robbed two men in separate incidents, Spokane Police reported.

The first victim told police he was confronted by the pair in the 1700 block of West Second Avenue. One of the attackers displayed a knife and stabbed him in the elbow while the other prevented the victim from leaving, according to court documents. The two chased the victim to the Conoco, 1602 W. Third Ave.

The second victim told police he was walking near Second Avenue and Maple Street when he was approached by the two males, who demanded his belongings and slashed his arm with a knife.

Police arrested the pair at an apartment at 1712 W. Second Ave., after they were located with the help of a police dog, police spokesman Dick Cottam said in a press release. The victims identified the two as their attackers.

Leonard T. Ziegler, 19, was booked into the Spokane County Jail on two counts of first-degree armed robbery and two counts of first-degree assault. A 17-year-old was arrested on the same charges.

Garage fire spreads, damages house

A fire that appears to have started in an attached garage caused extensive damage Monday to a one-story north Spokane home.

Spokane Fire Department Battalion Chief Bruce Moline said firefighters responded to a call at 4:12 p.m. when a family friend, driving past the wood-framed home at 6017 N. G St., noticed smoke and flames coming from the back door and garage. Eight units responded and contained the fire in about 30 minutes, Moline said.

Moline said two 15-year-old boys and two other boys, ages 14 and 6, said they were in the garage playing cards. The boys escaped unharmed and rescued a dog and cat from the house. Moline said the garage was destroyed and sections of the house were damaged extensively.

The cause of the fire is being investigated. The Red Cross is making an assessment in regard to aid to the family.