Driver’s help arrested

A woman caught driving with a suspended license near Cheney on Tuesday night may want to call different friends the next time she needs help, police say.

The woman was pulled over about 10:40 p.m. on Interstate 90, Washington State Patrol Trooper Mark Baker said. Because she couldn’t legally drive her vehicle, she called an acquaintance to drive it for her.

After two men in their 20s arrived to help, the trooper determined that one of them has a suspended license and the other was wanted on two warrants. Also, the 2003 Toyota Tundra they were driving had been reported stolen, authorities said. The Tundra’s driver said he didn’t know it was stolen and that a friend in jail told him he could drive it.

The friend and his two buddies were united in Spokane County Jail, police said.

Theft nets felony count

A shoplifter wanted two things, police say: iodine and steak.

And the man may have gotten away with just a misdemeanor charge when authorities found the items stuffed in his pants if some illegal pills in his pocket hadn’t led to a felony charge.

Christopher L. Johnson, 21, was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of third-degree theft and possession of a controlled substance, said Spokane County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Dave Reagan.

A man was spotted about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Safeway at 14020 E. Sprague Ave. with five bottles of iodine in his pockets and sirloin steak down the front of his pants, Reagan said.

“When the man left without paying for the items, the store’s security officers tried to stop him and the suspect attempted unsuccessfully to run away,” Reagan said. “While handcuffing and searching the thief, the officers found a knotted baggie containing several tablets.”

The iodine – often used in methamphetamine production – was for a friend who had open sores on her face, the man told authorities, according to Reagan. The man said he selected the steak because he was hungry.

The tablets were hydrocodone, Reagan said.

Post falls

Boater faces meth charge

Police say they busted a floating methamphetamine concession at a dock at Templin’s Red Lion Inn along the Spokane River.

Howard Linenberger Jr., 50, of Post Falls, was arrested and faces a felony charge for possession with intent to deliver meth, said Post Falls police Lt. Pat Knight.

Knight said Linenberger was living and selling drugs on his boat, on which police found 15. 8 grams of meth with an estimated street value of $1,600, about $5,000 in cash, a .22-caliber derringer, glass pipes with residue, cell phones, drug ledgers, baggies and scales.

Regulars at the Red Lion Inn tipped off the cops, he said. Also arrested on the boat was Amber Bunch, 23, of Hayden. She’s charged with frequenting a place in which drugs were used.