Man arrested in espresso stand burglary

Spokane Valley police arrested a 19-year-old burglary suspect early Tuesday after he allegedly attempted to steal a $40 bag of coffee from a Dishman espresso stand, said spokesman Sgt. Dave Reagan.

Jonathan D. Shepard was taken into custody inside Wake Up Call Coffee, 1703 S. Dishman-Mica Road. He was booked into the Spokane County Jail on felony counts of second-degree burglary and second-degree malicious mischief.

An employee of Wake Up Call arrived at the business a few minutes before 5 a.m. Tuesday and saw glass broken out of a door and windows. She drove off while calling police.

Officer Todd Saunders arrived and parked away from the business. As he walked in from the dark, he saw Shepard jump up from a nearby field and run to the business.

Saunders watched the suspect enter the espresso building, grab a bag of coffee and begin to walk out. The officer ordered him to the floor and held him there until backup officers arrived.

Follow-up investigation revealed that exterior security lights at the business had been smashed in addition to the glass in the door and window. The employee estimated cost to repair the damage would exceed $300.

Driver booked after chase

Spokane Valley police and Spokane County Sheriff’s deputies used a spike strip and the pursuit immobilization technique (PIT) to end the high-speed chase of a man driving a stolen car Sunday night.

The incident began about 9:50 p.m. Sunday when Deputies Kevin Richey and Brian Hirzel spotted a black Subaru at Argonne Road and Interstate 90 that had a defective headlight. They turned to stop the car and noted it also had no license plates.

When they turned on the overhead lights to conduct a traffic stop, the car raced away onto I-90 eastbound. The two queried sheriff’s dispatch and learned a black Subaru had been stolen earlier in Coeur d’Alene.

The two initiated a pursuit of the stolen Subaru that quickly accelerated to more than 80 mph on the freeway, passing several other eastbound cars in the light drizzle. The suspect turned south onto Pines Road, accelerated to 60 mph and ran a red light at Mission.

The suspect turned west onto Boone and then southbound on Bowdish, never signaling and accelerating each time to speeds higher than the posted limits in the residential area. The two deputies ended their pursuit.

Following another terminated pursuit, Officer Cole Speer deployed a Stop Stick (spikes) as the suspect passed his location near Evergreen. The Subaru hit the spikes and both driver’s-side tires were flattened.

The Subaru’s speed fell to about 25 mph and the suspect made a hard turn onto Evergreen Road. Deputy Dan Knight saw no other vehicles nearby and performed the PIT maneuver to spin the stolen car. Officer Rustin Olson blocked the Subaru from the front and the driver ran.

Olson and Deputy Richey chased the suspect down and arrested him near 222 S. Evergreen Road. He was identified as 27-year-old Aaron Leroy Johnson, 1900 W. Fairway Drive, Coeur d’Alene.

Johnson was driven to the Spokane County Jail and booked on charges of attempting to elude a police vehicle and possession of a stolen motor vehicle, both felonies.