Lack of bike lamp leads to bust

A woman who didn’t have the required lamp on her bicycle was arrested on a charge of possession of a controlled substance after police allegedly found methamphetamine in her backpack.

A police officer stopped 30-year-old Brandy E. Oakley, 111 S. Bell, early Tuesday near Sprague and University. The officer discovered Oakley had a warrant for her arrest and detained her, said Reagan. While searching her backpack he allegedly found syringes and chunks of meth.

Bad checks abound

Alert bank employees led to three arrests involving bad checks in separate incidents on March 11.

Police were called to the Farmers and Merchants Bank at 10 N. Argonne Road when a man tried to cash a stolen check. The man attempted to take the check and leave when police arrived but was detained, said police spokesman Cpl. Dave Reagan.

Bank employees told police that several checks belonging to an 80-year-old customer had been cashed recently. The 40-year-old man at the bank Friday had a check belonging to the same customer. The man, whom police identified as Martin D. Street of 2607 E. First Ave., said he had been given the check by a man in his 30s who had paid him for work on a car, Reagan said.

Street was booked into the Spokane County Jail on a felony charge of forgery.

Later that afternoon police were called to the Farmers and Merchants Bank at 10808 E. Sprague Ave. after another man tried to cash a check that had been reported stolen. The man told police that he had been given the check as payment for tools he had sold to a man, whom police identified as 40-year-old Jacob J. Potter of 12204 E. Fourth Ave.

Potter was at the bank with the man and was arrested on felony counts of forgery and identity theft. Police also found altered identification with Potter’s picture and another man’s personal information, Reagan said.

The third arrest occurred after police were called to Inland Northwest Bank at 15111 E. Sprague Ave. late in the afternoon March 11 when a 60-year-old man tried to cash a check on a closed account. The bank employee had closed the account several months ago and knew the owner of the account, Reagan said.

Michael V. Grzogorek, a transient, told police that he had received the check as payment for doing work on a woman’s car, Reagan said. But Grzogorek was unable to identify the woman or where she lived.

After arresting the man on a forgery charge, police found drug scales, a glass drug pipe and heroin in the man’s clothing, Reagan said. Grzogorek was also charged with possession of a controlled substance.

Fake checks fund shopping spree

Police arrested a man March 11 on charges of using counterfeit checks to purchase items at several stores.

The man presented a check to pay for more than $700 of merchandise at the Spokane Valley Wal-Mart, said Reagan. Police say the check was not valid and the name on the check and the identification the man provided were not his. The man was identified as 37-year-old Emanuel J. Schroyer of 2007 E. Courtland Ave.

Police also believe Schroyer used similar checks to buy more than $2,000 worth of merchandise at the Staples, Best Buy and Wal-Mart stores at Northpointe. He was charged with forgery and second-degree theft, Reagan said.

Altered prescription leads to arrest

A woman was arrested March 3 when she allegedly altered a prescription for Hydrocodone from 12 tablets to 112 tablets. A pharmacist at the Walgreen’s Pharmacy at 12312 E. Sprague Ave. noticed the change and confronted the woman, said Reagan. The woman then ran from the business, leaving her driver’s license behind.

The doctor who wrote the prescription confirmed that it was for 12 tablets, Reagan said. Police arrested the woman, identified as Julie J. Hinkemeyer, 19, at her home at 19016 E. Montgomery Ave. She was booked into the Spokane County Jail on a felony charge of prescription fraud.

Reward offered in assault

Secret Witness is offering a $500 reward for information on an assault involving an 81-year-old man in Valley Mission Park on Feb. 9.

The victim was walking his dog in the area near the horse stables when an unleashed dog attacked his schnauzer. The man began kicking the attacking dog to save his pet and was pushed to the ground by the owner of the attacking dog.

The victim lost his glasses and was only able to identify his attacker as a white male in his 20s, about 5 feet 8 inches tall and 190 pounds. The attacker also was accompanied by a female. The dog may have been a black boxer or pit bull.

Anyone with information on the assault is asked to call Secret Witness at 327-5111. Callers do not have to identify themselves to receive the award.