Two suspects at large in armed home invasion robbery

Spokane police are searching for two men who robbed a married couple Sunday at gunpoint in a northeast Spokane home.

A third suspect in the robbery, 32-year-old Jeremy J. Deaton, was arrested early Monday morning.

The robbery started late Sunday night when three men armed with a rifle and two handguns knocked on the door in the 3300 block of North Altamont Street, according to court documents. Deaton told police the man who lived there opened the door.

The homeowner told police one of the robbers pointed a gun at him and told him to get down, then hit him over the head with a gun when he hesitated, court documents say. His wife came out of the bedroom to hear what was going on and also was told to get down on the ground.

The robbers then asked where the money was, court documents say. The couple directed them to the bedroom and opened a safe that had $3,000 cash, an antique revolver and a box of ammunition inside. The robbers took the contents of the safe and also grabbed the man’s wallet, which had $500 cash and his Social Security card, a jar of coins and several pills from the nightstand.

After being questioned by police, the man admitted he also had a small amount of heroin inside the safe, which the robbers also took.

“We don’t believe this was a random crime,” police spokeswoman Officer Teresa Fuller said, though she declined to elaborate.

After the robbers left, the man called police and reported the three suspects drove off in a Toyota Camry, which he tried to follow.

Lt. Joe Walker spotted Deaton walking in the area and spoke with him, court documents say. Deaton told Walker he was out for a walk, but he was dry even though it was raining.

One officer searching the area spotted a black Toyota Camry, which accelerated away from him. The officer found it abandoned near the intersection of South Greene Street and East Pacific Avenue in East Central with a shotgun, gloves and clothing inside. The car was registered to Deaton’s wife, court documents say.

Deaton told a detective he was hanging out with a man named Dan who said he was going to a house to buy painkillers, court documents say. He said Dan struck the homeowner and the three of them fled in the car. He said he did not know who the other suspect is and refused to tell police where he met the other two suspects.

Fuller said Monday afternoon that police have descriptions for the other suspects but did not have their names.