Calls to 911 about treed cat result in woman’s arrest
Police arrested a Spokane Valley woman Tuesday morning after dispatchers reported that she kept calling 911 to complain that her cat was stuck in a tree.
About 6 a.m. Michelle L. Thomas, 38, called the 911 center about her pet, and she was transferred to Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service, according to a release from sheriff’s Sgt. Dave Reagan. But the persistent pet owner, who sounded intoxicated according to the release, called 911 back several more times after being warned that the repeated cat complaints were inappropriate.
Eventually two Spokane Valley Police officers visited her house and asked her to stop. According to the release, she didn’t say she would stop calling, and she was arrested on a misdemeanor charge.
It is unknown if or where the cat was stranded, Reagan said.
Seat-belt stop leads to drug arrests
A traffic stop for a seat-belt violation evolved into two drug arrests Tuesday afternoon.
An officer pulled over a car near Trent Avenue and Argonne Road about 2:20 p.m. because none of the three occupants were wearing a seat belt, according to a release from sheriff’s Sgt. Dave Reagan.
The car smelled like marijuana, police said, and when the officer asked a 16-year-old male to step out of the car, a large bag of the drug was found in his shirt. The teen was arrested and a drug dog was brought in. The dog found a pipe, a metal container with pot residue and a small bag of cocaine near where Nicholas Anthony Romanelli, 24, of 5043 E. Trent Ave., was sitting, according to the release.
The 16-year-old was arrested, and police also found $1,300 in cash, Reagan said.
The driver was released, but all three were cited for the seat-belt violations. The 16-year-old was booked into juvenile detention on a felony county of marijuana possession. Romanelli was booked into county jail on a felony count of cocaine possession.
Thief snatches computer through open window
Someone snagged a laptop computer from an open window at a Spokane Valley business Thursday, according to police.
Responding to an alarm at Road Product Co. on 12301 E. Empire Lane, a police officer found cables dangling out the window at 2:17 a.m., Sgt. Dave Reagan said in a release.
An employee told police that the window was left open the previous afternoon for ventilation, and someone must have pulled out the screen and grabbed the computer.
Police are asking for tips at 242-TIPS and are reminding people to lock doors and windows and keep areas well lighted to avoid theft.