Man ditches child to flee Spokane police

A Spokane man ditched his car with his small child inside then led officers on a foot chase through downtown this afternoon, police said. Jonathan D. Atabelo, 30, ran a red light at Lincoln and Main and jumped out of his car before police initiated a traffic stop, leaving his car parked in the traffic lane. Officers stayed with his child as other officers chased Atableo around the U.S. Courthouse, into the Spokane Public Library then inside Riverpark Square. Atabelo was arrested as he ran out the mall’s north exit “and into the arms of Officer D. Kennedy,” according to a news release. Atabelo was wanted on a misdemeanor warrant in Grant County. He was booked into jail on new charges of resisting arrest, driving while license suspended and third-degree abandonment of a dependent person. The child was picked up by his mother, who police said works nearby.