Four teens charged with vehicle vandalisms, arson

Spokane Valley police detectives arrested three University High School students Tuesday and charged them in connection with 116 reports of vehicle prowlings, thefts, malicious mischief and arson.

Damages in the incidents, including a car that was set on fire with a stolen flare gun, will run nearly $28,000, said spokesman Sgt. Dave Reagan

All three suspects are 16-year-old boys. They were booked into Spokane County Juvenile Detention Tuesday on two counts of arson, 10 counts of first-degree malicious mischief, five counts of third-degree theft and two counts of second-degree theft.

A fourth suspect, a 15-year-old boy living in Olympia, faces two counts of first-degree malicious mischief, two counts of second-degree theft and one count of third-degree theft. Warrants charging him with those crimes will be forthcoming, Reagan said.

Detective Richard Gere headed up the investigation that has run more than two months. He outlined the case that began on or about Oct. 6 when the suspects allegedly broke into numerous vehicles parked in the Shelley Lake and Ponderosa neighborhoods of Spokane Valley. One victim lost his wallet containing a debit card which two of the suspects later admitted using, Regan said.

On Oct. 8, the four stole slingshots and steel ball bearings from the White Elephant on East Sprague Avenue, a They also stole merchandise from Sports Authority and Joe’s Sports. One of the items stolen was a flare gun.

The incidents of malicious mischief started on Oct. 10 when the teens began shooting out car and home windows with the wrist rockets. They shot parked and moving cars, and one suspect admitted to firing at a pedestrian.

The teens went out vandalizing on Oct. 10, 11, 13 and 14 using a white Jeep Cherokee belonging to one of the suspect’s grandparents.

On Oct. 15, two of the suspects were in the Jeep when witnesses saw them shoot at an East Valley School District school bus full of students. Sgt. Matt Lyons located the Jeep and stopped it on North Sullivan Road. He noticed a slingshot inside the vehicle and recalled the incidents involving windows broken with steel ball bearings.

One of the suspects was booked that night for reckless endangerment for shooting at the bus. The vehicle was seized as evidence.

On Oct. 16, Gere executed a search warrant on the Jeep and found four wrist rockets and numerous steel ball bearings.

As of Dec. 13, Gere had reviewed more than 116 reports of malicious mischief, including the arson of the car. He identified seven theft victims through stolen property recovered from the Jeep.

Seventy-two malicious mischief victims have provided damage estimates totaling $27,520.96.

Spokane Valley Police Chief Rick VanLeuven Tuesday praised the team effort that resulted in the identification and arrest of the teen suspects.

“This was a high-visibility crime that resulted in a great amount of loss to a great number of Spokane Valley residents,” he said. “It was important that we solve it, and the efforts by a great team of patrol officers and detectives brought that about.”

Woman charged with shoplifting at ShopKo

An 18-year-old Spokane Valley woman is in custody on second-degree robbery charges after she assaulted a pair of ShopKo employees while finishing up her holiday shoplifting.

Olivia R. Parvey, 1021 N. Stout Road, was arrested by Officer Brian Frost about 7:15 p.m. Wednesday evening, said Spokane Valley Police spokesman Sgt. Dave Reagan.

The officer was called to the store at 13414 E. Sprague Ave. after a security officer watched Parvey select a new purse and then fill it with two candles, a bottle of Suave, a men’s watch, batteries, a Cougars T-shirt and other clothing.

When the suspect walked past eight registers and left the store without paying, the employee attempted to stop her outside the main doors. Parvey tried to run away with the products and the employee chased her down.

The woman immediately began fighting and kneed the security employee in the groin. He was able to restrain her with the help of a second employee whom Parvey struck in the left eye.

Frost arrested Parvey on the felony robbery charge and drove her to the Spokane County Jail for booking.