Police seize stolen items linked to triple homicide

Spokane police on Tuesday seized a bulletproof vest and video game console from the home of a Spokane man who was one of the last people to see triple homicide suspect Dustin W. Gilman alive.

No one was arrested, but Detective Jeff Barrington said the investigation into the items, which were stolen from the home of homicide victim Tracy Ader, 32, and her sons, as well as the location of other stolen property, is ongoing.

Police located the vest and gaming machine in a home at 4108 N. Howard St., where Gilman played video games with Preston Kahanu on Feb. 10, just hours after Gilman is believed to have strangled Ader and her sons, Damien, 10, and Kadin, 8.

Kahanu, 25, told The Spokesman-Review Tuesday that he found the vest in a duffel bag in his garage a few weeks ago. He brought it into his house but didn’t contact police because he says he was scared to talk to them about it. He suspects Gilman, 22, left it in the garage and insists he never saw Gilman with it.

Kahanu said police obtained a search warrant for his home after tracking the Internet protocol address being used by a PlayStation 3 stolen from the Ader home.

Kahanu said Gilman brought that console to his home when he stopped by to play Call of Duty. Kahanu said it was common to do that, and that Gilman said he would pick it up later. When Gilman was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound Feb. 13, Kahanu just figured he would keep it.

“I thought I’d scored a free PS3, but it ended up being stolen,” Kahanu said.

Kahanu said police were looking for guns stolen from the Ader home, but they didn’t find any at his house. He said Gilman showed him a .357 pistol but no other weapons.

Barrington declined to discuss details of the investigation but said it’s ongoing and arrests are possible.