In brief: Prowling suspect jailed after scuffle

A Spokane man spent the evening of his 20th birthday in jail Wednesday, arrested on suspicion of prowling vehicles in the Logan Neighborhood.

Gabriel Vasquez was booked into Spokane County Jail shortly after 5 p.m. An employee of a business at 2830 N. Hogan St. saw a man peek into cars parked nearby, then smash a window and snatch a backpack from the front seat of a Ford Focus.

Court documents say the employee gave chase, grabbing Vasquez by the coat. Vasquez struck the employee with a screwdriver, then the men scuffled on the ground. A woman ran up and kicked the employee in the ribs. Two other workers joined the fray, holding Vasquez down until police arrived. The woman fled the scene.

Vasquez, who records say turned 20 on Wednesday, is being held in lieu of $50,000 bond. He faces a charge of first-degree robbery.

High-speed chase nets two arrests

Two men are in jail after they allegedly led Spokane County sheriff’s deputies on an early morning high-speed chase Thursday.

Jason Harris, 29, was booked into jail shortly after 5 a.m. on multiple charges, including possession of a stolen motor vehicle, after he was apprehended by deputies, according to a Sheriff’s Office news release. Harris was a passenger in a vehicle that deputies began chasing around 2 a.m. in the 6600 block of East Trent Avenue in Spokane Valley.

The Sheriff’s Office announced later Thursday they had also arrested Scott Fraser, 36, the suspected driver of the vehicle. Fraser has an extensive criminal history, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies pursued the vehicle and used spike strips to disable the vehicle near Wandermere Golf Course in north Spokane.

A short foot pursuit ensued after the two men fled the vehicle. A sheriff’s deputy and his police dog, Brax, were able to apprehend Harris by a nearby fence. He was taken into custody without incident.

Fraser was arrested a few hours later just south of the golf course, according to a news release.

Suspect wants charges dropped

One of the men accused of murder in the shooting death of Julian Morrison, 26, outside a Spokane music venue last month says prosecutors don’t have enough evidence to try him.

Carlos Fuentes, 25, asked a judge to throw out the first-degree murder and 12 drive-by shooting charges that have kept him in jail since Sept. 12. Three days earlier, investigators say, Fuentes was involved  in an altercation outside The Hop at 706 N. Monroe St. that left Morrison dead of multiple gunshot wounds.

Fuentes’ defense attorney, Robert Cossey, said in court documents that the evidence against his client was “hearsay from unidentified individuals” and moved to dismiss all of it. The witnesses provided no statements that directly linked Fuentes to the slaying or gunshots fired from a vehicle he allegedly left the club in after the shooting, Cossey said.

A hearing is scheduled for Nov. 7. Fuentes remains in jail on the charges.

Ferry, fishing boat nearly collide in fog

SEATTLE – The Coast Guard said a Washington state ferry nearly collided with a fishing boat in the fog Thursday morning near Clinton.

Spokesman Jordan Akiyama in Seattle said the ferry Cathlamet had just left on its Puget Sound crossing to Mukilteo, about 10:35 a.m. when it nearly hit the 60-foot fishing boat near the Clinton terminal because of poor visibility.

He said ferry passengers were told to brace for impact. But there was no collision and the 328-foot ferry continued on its way.

Akiyama said the fishing boat was in the wrong and did not have the automated identification system the Coast Guard uses to monitor vessel traffic.