Shooting death leads to seven arrests

A 22-year-old man was shot in the head at point-blank range and killed Monday morning as he sat behind the wheel of a stolen pickup in a northwest Spokane parking lot.

The man died as the truck continued to roll through the Wal-Mart parking lot, becoming high-centered on landscaping.

Spokane County sheriff’s deputies arrested shooting suspect Clifford M. Meyers, 35, about 5:30 p.m. Monday at his parents’ home in the 19300 block of South Stentz Road. Meyers, the seventh person taken into custody after the shooting, was arrested on charges of first-degree murder.

Spokane police did not release a motive for the homicide.

Several witnesses saw the shooting about 6:35 a.m. and watched as a gunman ran from the Nissan truck to a waiting car that sped from the parking lot of the shopping center at Wellesley Avenue and Belt Street, which is adjacent to Shadle Park High School.

Two cars that were spotted at the scene were found two hours later in a rural area north of Airway Heights.

By Monday evening, Spokane police Lt. Scott Stephens said several people had been interviewed, and six were taken into custody on existing warrants, in addition to Meyers.

Police said they had identified the victim but were holding his name until family members could be contacted.

Stephens said it appeared the victim knew the shooter and other people at the crime scene, which means the shooting was not random.

Earlier Monday, police thought it may have been gang-related, but backed off from that theory by afternoon.

Witnesses said that Monday morning in the Wal-Mart lot, three cars were parked close to one another and that several people moved among the vehicles engaged in a conversation for about five minutes, according to Spokane police reports.

About 6:30 a.m., a man got into the passenger side of the pickup and fired a single shot into the victim’s head, then left in a black Mustang. A second car also left the area.

A maintenance worker, who asked not to be identified, was driving a street sweeper between the Wal-Mart and a Starbucks coffee shop when he heard the shot.

The Nissan truck continued moving forward about 40 feet before it jumped a concrete median and became high-centered on bark landscaping.

“It’s really shocking,” the man said. “I turned around and seen the guy running. I didn’t see his face. He jumped out and ran straight back” to the other car.

After the shooter fled, the Nissan’s engine continued revving, the maintenance worker said. He ran over, opened the door and saw that the driver was dead.

“He just slowly slumped over,” he said. “I reached in to turn the engine off, but the ignition was hanging below the dash.”

The maintenance worker’s father, who works with him on the property, popped the Nissan’s hood. They stopped the engine.

Detectives said the shooting was not captured on tape from security videos at Wal-Mart and a nearby Safeway gas station.

A break came in the case around 8:35 a.m. when neighbors in a rural area about five miles northwest of Airway Heights called police to report seeing a black Ford Mustang with a group of six to eight people arguing around it.

The heated exchange took place in the 11100 block of North Ritchey Road near 10 acres with two trailers, a shop and hundreds of car bodies. Residents call the area “the junkyard,” said Spokane County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Cpl. Dave Reagan.

Deputies watched from afar with binoculars before approaching. When four deputies neared the scene, the group scattered into the surrounding woods, Reagan said. Deputies called for backup and made the arrests.

According to Reagan, those arrested were:

“ Maurice J. Plank, 36, who police say had hitchhiked from the scene with a man who later heard a news report and called authorities. Plank was soon arrested for three drug-related warrants.

“ Jason E. Smith, 25, on an outstanding warrant for a misdemeanor count of domestic violence harassment.

“ Carl G. Davis, 41, on misdemeanor charges of city theft.

“ Donald J. Stickles, 28, on a felony count of failing to register as a sex offender.

“ Crystalline J. Wachtel, 27, on two felony warrants for possession of a controlled substance.

“ Timothy M. Schrag, 27, on two misdemeanor counts of no valid operator’s license.

The Mustang and another car were towed to the sheriff’s vehicle-processing station for a forensic search, Reagan said.