Woman charged in tag-swapping scheme

A woman’s scheme to make her own sale prices fell flat Wednesday night when Spokane Valley Police arrested her.

Security guards at Macy’s department store in the Spokane Valley Mall watched Kay Lynn Warsinske, 28, of Oldtown, Idaho, switch price tags on many items of clothing. She would replace tags of higher-priced items with those of lower-priced ones from other items in the store, said police spokesman Sgt. Dave Reagan.

As the items were rung up, the total was $82.21 instead of the actual cost of $895. Warsinske also had pocketed some watches, Reagan said.

Officer Scott Kenoyer arrested Warsinske and booked her into the Spokane County Jail on second-degree theft charges.

Suspects involved in crashes arrested

Two car chases netted two drug suspects after they crashed into two different garages in separate incidents Wednesday.

In the first, a man who noticed his stolen truck being driven by someone else told police, who followed the truck into the Sherwood Forest neighborhood, Reagan said.

Several officers flooded into the area and found the truck had crashed into a mobile home. Deep among the mobile homes, the suspect was difficult to locate but Cpl. Mark Henderson found him walking across the street, Reagan said.

Henderson told the suspect to stop, but the man ran into a back yard. Officers finally ordered him at gunpoint to get on the ground, Reagan said.

The man, Mason Robert Carroll, 26, tried to hide a black compact disk case in the back yard, Reagan said. Officers later found it had a small amount of methamphetamine and a spoon inside. After officers searched Carroll’s clothing, they found four packages of marijuana.

Carroll was booked into Spokane County Jail on multiple felony counts.

Later that evening, a Chevrolet pickup sped off as an officer tried to stop it, Reagan said. A Washington State Patrol trooper joined the pursuit which ended when the truck slammed into a garage. The driver ran into the woods and hid in a barn. A Sheriff’s K-9 unit arrived and tracked the suspect to the barn, and the dog bit Christopher Wayne Helgerson, 38, in a “particularly sensitive part of his leg,” Reagan said.

Officers arrested Helgerson, and found drug scales, a spoon, plastic syringes and six small baggies of methamphetamine in the suspect’s truck. There also was a large bag of marijuana inside.

Officers booked Helgerson into jail on multiple drug charges, as well as charges related to evading police, hitting the garage and trespassing.

Gun possession leads to arrest

A domestic argument ended with an arrest Wednesday night.

Officers responded to a call from neighbors about a fight at 15319 E. Broadway Ave., Reagan said. The callers warned that firearms might be involved.

When Spokane Valley Police arrived, they secured a .22-caliber rifle that belonged to Aaron E. Hamilton, Reagan said.

Though officers could not determine a crime had been committed during the argument, the officer discovered Hamilton had a prior felony robbery conviction which made it illegal for him to have a rifle in his home.

Officers booked Hamilton into the Spokane County Jail for illegal possession of a firearm.