Homicide suspect found in N.D.

Car windows tinted too dark for North Dakota standards led to the arrest of a suspect in a Spokane homicide, authorities said Tuesday.

When Paul F. Garner was stopped for the traffic violation, the North Dakota State Patrol didn’t know the 42-year-old was wanted in connection with the shooting death of Steven J. Sleizer at 1612 W. Seventh Ave.

A glass pipe, crack cocaine and suspected stolen property led to Garner’s arrest and a North Dakota trooper’s call to Spokane police on Monday.

Two Spokane police detectives are expected to head to North Dakota this week, Deputy Chief Al Odenthal said. The detectives will likely have a warrant charging Garner with first-degree murder. The warrant sets bail at $1 million.

Meanwhile, Garner is being held at Stutsman County Law Enforcement Center in Jamestown, N.D., officials said.

Spokane police have been looking for Garner, who goes by the nickname “Chronic,” since they found Sleizer, 43, dead at the South Hill apartment he shared with his girlfriend, Odenthal said. Autopsy results released Tuesday say Sleizer died from two bullet wounds to his torso.

Garner went to the apartment after Sleizer’s girlfriend, Jennifer A. Makaily, called him for help in removing Sleizer from the home, police spokesman Cpl. Tom Lee said. In addition to his torso, Sleizer was also shot in the head and neck.

It’s unknown whether Garner and Sleizer knew each other, but Garner and Makaily were acquaintances, Odenthal said. It’s too early in the investigation to say whether Makaily will also face charges in connection with Sleizer’s death. She was in the apartment at the time of the shooting, Odenthal said.

Police found a weapon they think was used, he said. The firearm was not discovered in the apartment.

Around 7:30 a.m. Monday, Garner was spotted in his white Cadillac on Interstate 94 about 60 miles west of Fargo, N.D., officials said, and he was pulled over because his window tinting blocked more than 50 percent of light, which is the standard for North Dakota.

When troopers asked Garner where he was headed, he said he was going east, said James Nygaard, a spokesman for the North Dakota State Patrol.

“We searched his car after getting his consent, during which we found drug paraphernalia,” Nygaard said. “Then we got a search warrant for his car and found the crack cocaine.”

Garner lived in Spokane for only a few months, Odenthal said. “It did not surprise us he attempted to flee,” he said. “We understand he was raised in Chicago and was perhaps headed there. He made it about halfway back.”