Storage unit yields dead man’s ID
Man arrested on unrelated warrant called person of interest
Police arrested a felon Wednesday who they say is a person of interest in the killing of an 80-year-old Spokane man two weeks ago.
A search of a storage garage rented by David K. Brewczynski, 42, led investigators to Kenneth Cross’ identification card, black gloves, jewelry and a .22-caliber pistol matching the description of one belonging to Cross.
Cross’ girlfriend, Anna Turnwall, 82, found him dead in his bedroom closet at 11611 E. Boone Ave. on Sept. 20 after he missed their lunch date. His home had been ransacked, according to police, and Cross had been beaten and shot twice in the back of the head.
Five days later, Brewczynski showed up at the garage he had rented for two months at 7513 W. 51st Ave. and asked owner William S. Lunvin for access, though he was supposed to have vacated the property, according to a search warrant filed Wednesday in Spokane County District Court.
Looking through the garage’s contents Sunday, Lunvin found the gun, gloves, jewelry and Cross’ ID in a tin in a lunchbox stored in a 5-gallon paint can. He knew Cross had recently been killed and called police, according to the search warrant.
Six hours later, five law enforcement officials from the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office and the Spokane Police Department searched the garage.
Brewczynski hasn’t been charged in Cross’ death but was arrested Wednesday on an outstanding warrant linked to a residential burglary, police said.
Detectives consider Brewczynski, who is a transient, a “person of interest” in the Cross case, according to Spokane Valley police.
They’d been looking for him since Sunday’s search when a member of the Eastern Washington Fugitive Task Force spotted Brewczynski sitting in his pickup at a convenience store at Francis Avenue and Pittsburgh Street.
Authorities arrested Brewczynski as he left the store holding two hot dogs, according to police.
Brewcyznksi’s criminal record in Spokane County spans more than a decade and includes four burglary convictions: one residential, two first-degrees and one second-degree.
He served more than three years in prison for a 2004 residential burglary that occurred less than half a mile from Cross’ home. In that case, Brewczynski surprised a homeowner, then fled from police. He was released from prison in April, according to court documents.
Neighbors described Cross as a hard worker who was well-liked.
He was known for driving his 1955 Chevy pickup he called “The White Knight” and for his love for his wife, Gladys, who died in 2001.