North Side raid nets two arrests, stolen guns

Spokane police and ATF agents arrested two men and confiscated several guns Tuesday afternoon during a north Spokane raid.

Kevin J. Dopkins and Justin C. Taylor, both 22, were arrested on a charge of possessing a stolen firearm, and additional charges are pending, said Spokane police Cpl. Tom Lee.

The operation at 828 E. Bridgeport Ave. closed nearby streets for a couple of hours. Several people in the area were evacuated, including an elderly woman, two preschool children and another woman who were in the home where the two men were arrested, Lee said.

Lee said the incident began that morning when a number of handguns and long guns were stolen from a home on the 2200 block of North Bessie Street.

Officers traced the stolen guns to the Bridgeport home.

They shut down several streets to protect people in the area in case there was an unknown person in the house, Lee said. That didn’t turn out to be the case.

The operation was part of a local gang unit investigation involving ATF, Spokane police and the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office.

Lee called the raid a success.

“We not only took more guns off the street. These guns never made it to the street,” he said.