USAF survival school student suspected of breaking into downtown building, confronting sleeping woman

Tue., Sept. 8, 2015

An Air Force Airman attending survival school at Fairchild Air Force base was arrested late Saturday after witnesses reported that he broke a window to get into a downtown building. Jason R. Turkovich, 22, was cited for misdemeanor criminal trespass and released. He was not booked into the Spokane County Jail. A resident in a downtown building reported seeing Turkovich open her bedroom door and stare at her. She screamed and alerted a roommate, who grabbed a baseball bat and went in search of the intruder. The roommate reportedly found a broken out window with bloody handprints. When police arrived they found Turkovich on the roof of the building. Capt. David Liapis, chief of Fairchild’s public affairs office, said Turkovich is a student at the base’s survival school. He said he does not know what unit Turkovich is normally attached to. “They come from all over the Air Force,” he said. “The incident was not related to any actual military training.” Liapis said it was his understanding that Turkovich was engaging in “roof running” and was trying to get off the roof when he was caught by police. It will be up to Turkovich’s home unit to impose any discipline in addition to the criminal charge, which could include a letter of reprimand in his personnel file, reduction in rank or forfeiture of pay, Liapis said. “Obviously Airmen are held to a high standard,” he said. Spokane Police Department spokesman Cpl. Jordan Ferguson said the decision was made to charge the Airman with criminal trespassing because a charge of burglary requires proof of intent to steal something or assault someone.

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