Fraud suspect, McDonald employee arrested

Police say they nabbed a woman who used information garnered from her job as a McDonald’s cashier to open a credit card account in someone else’s name.

Pennie S. Robinson, 40, of Otis Orchards was arrested Tuesday evening and booked into the Spokane County Jail on two counts of first-degree identity theft, said Spokane Valley Police Department spokesman Cpl. Dave Reagan in a statement. Police said she used a credit card issued under the name of another woman to rack up thousands of dollars in fraudulent charges.

“She’s defrauded lots of folks,” said arresting officer Det. Mike Ricketts in a statement.

He said Robinson was employed at McDonald’s restaurant at 4647 S. Regal St., in Spokane. Ricketts said he received information that Robinson copied the credit card and debit card numbers of drive-through customers.

“People should regularly review their credit,” Reagan said. He encourages people to review their credit card statements periodically to confirm the charges listed are legitimate.

Officers found a list containing several individuals’ personal information when they searched Robinson’s home, Reagan said. A van used by Robinson also was seized.

“Frankly any business that takes credit or debit cards faces the risk of an employee doing something along these lines,” Reagan said. Last year an employee at another area McDonald’s was arrested on similar charges, prompting the restaurant to change the way employees access receipts, he said.

Those who suspect their personal information has been used fraudulently should file a report through the Crime Reporting Center at 532-9266.

While searching Robinson’s home, police also arrested Pete O’Brien, 35, on a Department of Corrections warrant for escaping from community custody.

Police also suspect Robinson was an associate of Eddie Ray Hall who is wanted for possession of a controlled substance and bail jumping, police said.

Tattoos used to ID woman

After attempting to avoid arrest by giving an officer her twin sister’s driver’s license and saying she was wearing someone else’s pants, a 25-year-old woman was arrested Monday for possession of meth, second-degree identity theft and other drug charges, police said.

Melissa Ann Knoles of 7117 E. Rutter Ave. handed her sister’s driver’s license to a police officer around 11 p.m. after he ran the license plate number of the Honda she was driving and noticed an outstanding drug possession warrant for its owner, said Reagan in statement.

The officer noticed slight differences between the license photo and the driver. He asked Knoles for the last digits of her sister’s social security number, which she gave him. Still suspicious, he re-checked police records from his car and saw that Knoles had two distinctive tattoos.

The driver’s tattoos matched those in the database, and she was arrested.

At that point Knoles apologized for lying, Reagan said.

According to the statement, the officer found two bags of meth in a purse containing a picture of Knoles and her children as well as a small amount of marijuana and several drug pipes. Police said the officer also found a bag of meth in the pocket of Knoles’ pants, which she said were not hers.

Syringe contains heroin

An officer pulled over a car with expired license tabs near Sprague Avenue and Havana Street Monday and found a loaded syringe where the driver’s feet had been, police said.

Officers determined the syringe contained heroin and water and arrested Francy F. Fitzhugh, 38, of Spokane Valley on a charge of felony possession of heroin. Reagan said in a statement that officers also found an empty syringe and a metal spoon containing drug residue in the woman’s purse.

Theft suspect stopped at Tidyman’s

Spokane Valley police arrested a 43-year-old Veradale man April 29 after he skipped a step at a Tidyman’s supermarket – the check-out line.

Stewart Symonds, 15615 E. Fourth Ave., was charged with second-degree theft in connection with attempting to steal $319 of groceries, Spokane Valley police spokesman Cpl. Dave Reagan said.

Spokane Valley officer Darrell Stidham responded to the Tidyman’s at Sprague and McDonald after a security employee stopped the suspect in the parking lot.

The employee told police he watched the suspect load the shopping cart and leave the store without paying, Reagan said.

Burglar takes SCRAPS donation jar

Someone threw a rock through the front door of the Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service’s front door early April 29 and made off with a donation jar full of cash.

“Glass was everywhere,” said SCRAPS director Nancy Hill. The break-in set off the shelter’s audible alarm, which likely scared the burglar away, Hill said. She was called at 1:30 a.m. when police discovered the damage and arrived to check on the animals, who were not harmed. “They were a little surprised to see me at 1:30 a.m.,” she said.

The broken doors were boarded up by a Spokane County Facilities Management employee and there didn’t appear to be anything missing. Hill didn’t notice the missing donation jar until the shelter opened for business that day and an employee asked where it was. She’s not sure how much money was in the jar, but said it could have been up to $100. Donations are used for extras such as dog beds or visits to the vet for sick animals.

Anyone with information on the crime can call the police tip line at 242-TIPS. “If anybody knows anything about it, we’d certainly like to hear it,” Hill said.

Wanted man an unwanted visitor

A Spokane Valley resident didn’t want the house guest, but he was a wanted man – by the Washington Department of Corrections and Spokane County Superior Court.

Brian K. Crooks, 36, a transient, had three felony warrants out for his arrest from Stevens County, Reagan said.

About 6:15 a.m. Sunday, a resident in the 200 block of North Corbin Road called to report the unwanted guest at his home, Reagan said. The man left the home and started walking in the 17000 block of East Sprague Avenue.

Officers searched the transient and discovered steel knuckles in his pants pockets and a locked metal box in his backpack containing a baggie of meth, drug paraphernalia and digital scale.

Crooks was charged with possession of meth and booked into the Spokane County Jail on the three felony warrants.

Burglary suspect found under van

A man charged with second-degree burglary early Tuesday claimed he crawled under a van at Big Boy Toys to sleep and get warm.

Bloody knuckles and a rock wrapped in a shirt caused police to suspect otherwise, Reagan said.

Kenneth John Westman, 509 S. Koren Road, also had a warrant for his arrest for fourth-degree domestic violence assault.

Spokane Valley police found Westman, also known as Kenneth Shaw, underneath a van at Big Boy Toys, 6708 E. Sprague Ave., about midnight after a witness reported a man trying to break into the business, Reagan said.

Officers determined Westman was walking home from a bar and decided to break a window on the west side of the building using a rock in a shirt, Reagan said. Westman tried to crawl through the window, but it was too small, and he cut himself in the process.

He then hid under the van, Reagan said.

Bullets used to stop dog attack

It took two bullets from a .357-caliber pistol Sunday night before a pit bull would let go of another dog’s neck.

The pit bull, which didn’t die from the gun shots, had to be put to sleep by an officer from Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Services, Reagan said. Spokane Valley police determined that the man who shot the pit bull at Sinto Avenue and Locust Road didn’t do anything criminal.

Reagan said on Sunday night a man living in the 1300 block of North Locust Road heard a dog fight and went outside to look. He saw the pit bull attacking the neck of another dog that was on a leash and walking with its owners.

The man retrieved his gun and shot the pit bull twice in the torso before it let go, Reagan said. Another neighbor said he also heard the fight and had pepper sprayed the pit bull, but it had no effect.

The pit bull was put to sleep at the owner’s request, Reagan said. The owners of the attacked dog were gone when police arrived and have not been identified.