Suspect gives K-9 props after capture

A police dog caught an armed robbery suspect in north Spokane on Wednesday.

Steven A. Shoffner, 22, of Medical Lake, told police that K-9 Stryder did a great job and that officers would not have found him were it not for the dog, according to a news release.

Stryder was called to the scene with his handler, Officer Shawn Kendall, after a clerk at G & B Grocery, 2104 E. Francis Ave., said two men fled with cash and cigarettes after stating they had a gun.

Officer Ben Yinger spotted two suspects at North Napa Street and East Decatur Avenue and arrested one, Jenson T. Richards, 23, before Stryder caught up with Shoffner in a garage in the 1700 block of East Decatur. He was hiding under a mattress; police recovered the stolen cash and cigarettes but did not find a gun.

Both suspects are due in Spokane County Superior Court this afternoon on a first-degree robbery charge. Shoffner also faces a charge of second-degree burglary for entering the garage.