Liberty Lake blotter, Feb. 22-29
The cold and snow appear to have kept people indoors and out of trouble in Liberty Lake. Officers made only two arrests during the week of Feb. 22-Tuesday and assisted the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office with two more.
A 20-year-old Spokane man was involved in an accident in the 23300 block of East Appleway Avenue just after 4 p.m. on Feb. 24. An officer determined the man was driving with a suspended license, and he was arrested. In the second arrest of the week, a 40-year-old Liberty Lake man was arrested for driving under the influence at 2:05 a.m. on Saturdayin the 1300 block of North Liberty Lake Road. He was originally stopped for not having taillights or brake lights on a flatbed trailer he was pulling, said police chief Brian Asmus.
Officers responded to help deputies with a call in the 4000 block of South Chapman Road on a report that a 14-year-old boy was assaulting people in the house on Sunday. He was arrested and taken to juvenile detention, Asmus said. There are apparently ongoing domestic violence issues in the home, Asmus said. “We’ve been there a couple times before.”
An officer and the department’s drug dog, J.J., were called to help deputies search a car stopped at Wellesley Avenue and Vincent Road in Otis Orchards on Friday. The dog located marijuana and a spoon that appeared to have drug residue on it, Asmus said. The dog then searched the home of the man involved in the traffic stop, who was wanted on a Department of Corrections escape warrant. There the dog turned up smoking devices, syringes and other drug paraphernalia, Asmus said.
Part of the reason the week was so quiet is that the steady stream of garage burglaries and vehicle prowls seem to have stopped. Asmus said that after recent surge in publicity surrounding suspect Robert L. Hahn, things immediately quieted down. But Asmus believes the prowler has moved to another location. Asmus said a law enforcement contact recently told him that there have been about 40 garage burglaries in the Eagle Ridge neighborhood south of Spokane off U.S. Highway 195 that exactly match the style of the burglaries in Liberty Lake. Items missing include loose change and garage door openers. “It’s the exact same – open garages, open cars,” he said. “I’m thinking he’s found better pickings.”
During the week officers gave out three citations for license and plates required. Additional citations were given for failure to show proof of liability insurance, no stop lights or turn signal, improper lane usage and speeding.