Man faces charge in alleged power generator theft following windstorm

A 22-year-old Spokane man faces a charge of possessing stolen property after police found a power generator mailed to a South Hill resident in his backseat after last month’s windstorm.

Jyreel Brandom was arrested Nov. 25 during a late night traffic stop on Interstate 90. Brandom was pulled over because his license was expired and his clothing matched reports of a vehicle prowler on the lower South Hill, according to court records. Officers discovered a power generator, worth more than $500, in the backseat of his Pontiac sedan, which had an address label listing a woman living on the South Hill.

Police drove to the woman’s home, who was surprised to discover a generator she’d ordered online missing from her garage, according to court records.

Brandom told police he’d bought the generator because the power had gone out at his home during the Nov. 17 windstorm.

Brandom, who has four felony convictions for property crimes, was released the next day from jail without bond. He has not checked in with court officials as required by an order from Superior Court Judge Michael Price, according to records.