Liberty Lake: Open-door driving leads to drug, weapons charges

A Liberty Lake police officer stopped a car driving down the road with its passenger-side door hanging open at 1:10 a.m. on Dec. 29 and ended up arresting the driver on multiple charges.

When the officer pulled the car over at Harvard Road and Indiana Avenue a woman jumped out the passenger door before the car stopped, said Liberty Lake Police Chief Brian Asmus. The driver, identified as 59-year-old Stephen K. Drymon, of Otis Orchards, was searched. The officer found a knife, pepper spray and brass knuckles on Drymon, Asmus said. Hydrocodone pills were also reportedly found on Drymon.

The woman appeared to be under the influence of drugs and was hallucinating, Asmus said. She was taken to a hospital for treatment. Drymon was arrested on charges of felony drug possession and possession of dangerous weapons.

Police responded to a call of a residential burglary in progress in the 22000 block of East Bennett Lane at 10:35 p.m. Dec. 30. The couple told police that they arrived home and heard noises in a closet. The man went to check on the noise and found someone hiding inside the closet. He gave chase outside, but doubled back when he realized there was another man in his kitchen, Asmus said. A K-9 was brought in and followed the scent to the road, Asmus said. Police believe the duo drove away from the area.

The resident said one of the men was white, between 25 and 35 years old, about 5-foot-9 and weighed about 150 pounds. Evidence was collected at the scene, and the case is under investigation, Asmus said.

Other calls received by the department between Dec. 26 and Jan. 2 were more routine. Officers arrested a 27-year-old Spokane man at 3 a.m. on Dec. 31 on counts of driving under the influence, driving with a suspended license and failure to have a required ignition interlock. The driver was originally stopped for speeding and changing lanes, Asmus said.

During the week officers gave out three citations for failure to show proof of liability insurance and three for speeding. Additional citations were given for operating a vehicle with canceled registration, license and plates required, attachment of plate to vehicle, failure to initially register vehicle, driving without a license without identification, invalid license in possession/displayed, violating an intermediate license, failure to obey a traffic control device and use of a cellphone.