In brief: Police hope recovered stolen car yields evidence

Police are hoping they’ll find fingerprints and DNA on a car stolen in a home-invasion robbery that will help them solve the crime.

Officers found the 1997 Honda Civic stripped of its tires and wheels near West Gordon Avenue and West Glass Avenue in Spokane after it was stolen during a robbery at 2918 N. Hogan St. on June. 6.

The victim said a man he knew only as “Nike” arrived at his home with two men, including one who was holding a sawed-off shotgun. The gunman yelled “Where’s the money? Where’s the drugs?” and trashed the apartment as Nike and the other man also brandished guns, according to a search warrant filed this week. Another occupant of the apartment was pistol-whipped. His roommate said he was robbed of $50, two laptops, a PlayStation 3 and stereo speakers.

It’s unclear if the robbery is connected to other recent robberies, but the method of operation and suspects’ descriptions are somewhat similar to that of a takeover-style robbery by four masked men at a south Spokane McDonald’s on May 25.

Another robbery involving four men in ski masks occurred early on June 8 at the Zip Trip at 1523 W. 10th Ave. on the South Hill. Employees said the store was robbed at gunpoint by two white men and two Hispanic men wearing dark clothes and ski masks. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Check at (509) 456-2233.

Marshal arrests fugitive wanted on drug charges

A fugitive wanted on heroin charges was arrested this week after a U.S. marshal spotted him at a home in Spokane disguised in a blond wig.

Frisco San Juan Ayala, 32, was wearing the wig when federal agents observed him placing backpacks inside two vehicles between 8:30 a.m. and 9 a.m. Monday, according to court documents filed Thursday.

About 9:45 a.m., Ayala got into a gray Dodge truck but crashed into another vehicle at the intersection of East Empire Avenue and North Napa Street, then fled on foot, leaving behind a black pistol, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.

Federal agents witnessed the accident, and Ayala was arrested near Napa and East Gordon Avenue with more than 10 grams of methamphetamine, as well as heroin and “numerous suspected precious gems,” documents say.

Ayala was not wearing the wig at the time of his arrest, but his hair was dyed and investigators found the wig in the cab of the truck, U.S. Marshal Bob Doty said.

Ayala is described by federal agents as a “mid- to upper-level drug trafficker in the Spokane area,” according to court documents.

African children’s choir to perform multiple times

The Asante Children’s Choir, made up of 24 children from East Africa, is touring the Coeur d’Alene and Spokane areas and will perform a dozen concerts between today and July 8.

The choir is dedicated to spreading love, hope and joy while raising awareness for the plight of orphans and other vulnerable children in a region recovering from years of civil war and genocide. Twenty of the children are from Burundi and four are from Rwanda.

Asante in Swahili means “thank you.”

Dates include today at 2 p.m. at Post Falls City Hall; June 20 at 7 p.m. at the Kroc Community Center in Coeur d’Alene; June 29 at 6 p.m. at Coeur d’Alene City Park; in the Fourth of July Parade at 11 a.m. in Coeur d’Alene; and July 6 at 6:30 p.m. at Riverstone Amphitheater in Coeur d’Alene.

The concerts are free; donations are welcome.

The full list of performances is online at asantechoir.org/tour-dates.