Man arrested at site of standoff

The main character in the 1993 movie “Kalifornia” visits killing sites to research a book about serial killers.

While the movie didn’t generate much interest at the box office, police said it inspired a Spokane Valley man to take in the sights at the scene of last week’s shootout on North Stout Road.

Matthew J. Cunningham, 23, told police he went to Jeremy Stiffarm’s former residence Tuesday to “take in the experience” of last week’s standoff and suicide.

Cunningham, who lives at 1010 N. Bessie Road, just a few blocks from the scene, was charged with residential burglary, said Cpl. Dave Reagan, Spokane Valley spokesman. The judge released Cunningham Wednesday on his own recognizance.

In the movie, the main character (played by David Duchovny) runs into problems when he unwittingly shares his road trip with a real serial killer (played by Brad Pitt).

In Cunningham’s case, police said the problems started after officers responded to the duplex at 1320 N. Stout Road on a report of a burglary in progress.

The duplex was the scene of a six-hour standoff with police on April 27 in which at least 85 bullets were fired during four volleys of gunfire. Police found Stiffarm, 29, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the basement bedroom.

About 11:50 p.m. Tuesday, police returned to the home to find a new 3-foot hole in the wooden fence around the back yard and a man climbing out of a basement window.

Police greeted him with their guns drawn and ordered him to the ground, Reagan said. At first, the intruder denied damaging the fence or removing a 6-foot-long piece of plywood from the bullet-shattered window.

Then, officers said, he told them “he had been walking in the area and decided to go into the home because he was curious and wanted to experience the event.” Just like the guy in “Kalifornia.”

He also said that he’d had a few beers.