Man arrested after allegedly leading chase

A Spokane man was arrested Wednesday after he led a deputy on a chase from the outskirts of Deer Park to near the Idaho border, the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office reported.

Deputy Jeff Shover attempted to pull over Robert S. McDonnell, 40, about 12:30 p.m. on Deer Park-Milan Road, sheriff’s spokesman Cpl. Dave Reagan wrote in a press release.

McDonnell led Shover in the Toyota Camry he was driving at speeds 20 to 40 mph over the speed limit, Reagan said. After running some stop signs, he crashed into a ditch near the state border on East Blanchard Road. He was not injured.

Shover arrested McDonnell at the scene and smelled alcohol on McConnell’s breath, Reagan said. There also were several open alcohol containers in the car.

McDonnell was wanted on a warrant for allegedly driving under the influence. For Wednesday’s incident, he faces a new charge of driving under the influence and a count of attempting to elude a police vehicle. He remained at the Spokane County Jail on Thursday night.

Teens say gun pulled on them

A man was arrested Wednesday evening after youths playing basketball at a South Hill church said he pointed a gun at them, Spokane police said.

Officers were called about 6:15 p.m. to Living Word Christian Center, 2828 E. 33rd Ave., where teenagers had been playing basketball in the parking lot, police spokesman Dick Cottam wrote in a press release.

The teens reported that a man swore and then pointed a handgun at them.

Police stopped Steven M. LeClaire, who was in the neighborhood and met the description given by the youths. LeClaire, 22, gave conflicting stories, but eventually told officers that he yelled at the teenagers and flipped a lighted cigarette at one of them, Cottam said.

Officers searched LeClaire’s residence and found a semi-automatic handgun in a plastic sack hidden in a box of cat litter.

LeClaire was arrested on a count of assault with a deadly weapon. He was released from the Spokane County Jail on his own recognizance Thursday.

Fight over pay leads to prison

A Spokane man who attacked his boss in a dispute over wages learned Thursday that crime doesn’t pay, either.

Harley Clifford Driggs, 30, pleaded guilty Thursday to second-degree robbery and faces at least a year in prison when he is sentenced later this month.

At least Driggs won’t have to pay for a couple of recent traffic tickets for driving without a license. That was part of the plea bargain Superior Court Judge Neal Rielly accepted.

Deputy Prosecutor John Love also agreed to recommend a minimum-standard, one-year prison term and to drop a first-degree robbery charge. Driggs’ maximum standard sentence would be 14 months.

Driggs attacked and robbed building contractor Phillip J. Olson on Sept. 10 after Olson fired him as a painter. Olson wasn’t satisfied with Driggs’ work in two days on the job, but agreed to pay Driggs $100 for what he had done and $100 more if he would finish the work satisfactorily.

Accompanied by two other men, Driggs met Olson in the parking lot of the Yokes grocery store at 210 E. North Foothills Drive. Olson gave Driggs the first $100 he had promised, but Driggs forced his way into Olson’s truck and choked Olson for several seconds.

“You’re lucky I don’t kill you, and I might do just that,” Driggs told Olson. “I can take anything I want. Everything you have is mine.”

According to court documents that Driggs said are accurate, Driggs stole a nail gun, a cell phone and a battery, prevented Olson from driving away and mocked Olson when he called for help.

A witness lent Olson a cell phone to call 911, and a nearby sheriff’s detective arrived in time to follow Driggs as he drove away.

Woman arrested in robberies

A woman was arrested this week on suspicion of helping two men rob Spokane espresso stands.

On Jan. 21, a man with a gun stole $156 from Final Grind Espresso, 4305 E. Trent Ave., according to court documents. A couple of minutes later, a man with a gun robbed Grand Finale, 3101 S. Grand Blvd., and stole about $200.

A witness to the second incident saw the robber get into the back seat of a car, court records say. He reported that a woman was driving and another man was in the front seat. The witness recorded the license plate number, and Spokane police Sgt. Joe Walker located the vehicle later in the day.

Christal N. Helsley, 31, was driving the car and told Walker that she had loaned it to someone else that morning. Inside the vehicle were a semi-automatic pistol, drug paraphernalia and two baggies of methamphetamine.

Helsley was booked into the Spokane County Jail on Tuesday on two counts of conspiracy to commit first-degree robbery. She remained in jail on Thursday on a $150,000 bond.

Last week a reward was issued for information that leads to the arrest of Andrew Whitehead, 44. He is believed to have been one of the robbers.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Whitehead is asked to call Secret Witness at 327-3111. Callers do not have to give their name to be eligible for the reward.