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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Man arrested after pregnant robbery victim miscarries

Police have arrested a Spokane man suspected of striking a pregnant store clerk with a shoebox during a robbery. The woman later had a miscarriage.

Dewayne Bearchild, 21, was jailed Wednesday in connection with the Jan. 21 robbery at Famous Footwear at 9704 N. Newport Highway, according to court documents.

As two men and a woman entered the store and began looking at shoes, the employee offered to hold a pair of shoes for one man while he continued browsing. But the man hit her in the stomach with the box and ran out, according to court documents. The group stole three pairs of shoes.

The woman told police that the strike caused her to immediately “gag” and have abdominal cramps. She later had a miscarriage, court documents say.

She told investigators she was six weeks pregnant at the time and has had two prior miscarriages earlier in pregnancies. Her doctor told her there was no specific medical proof the assault caused the miscarriage. Investigators are still waiting to receive her medical records.

Under state law, a person can be charged with manslaughter if they injure a pregnant woman that leads to the death of an unborn child.

Employees at the store reported the suspects left in a white or silver van and provided police with a partial plate number. Police located the vehicle and talked to the owner, who said he was out of town and had loaned it to a friend. He told police he heard a man named Dewayne Bearchild had taken his van and was doing “dumb…stuff” with it, court documents say. Investigators also found a pair of Nike tennis shoes inside and an empty shoebox that appeared to be new.

Police arrested Bearchild Feb. 10 on an outstanding warrant and found him wearing a pair of Nike shoes that matched the description on the shoebox found inside the car, court documents say. The employee did not positively identify Bearchild in a photo lineup, but said his photo looked most like the man who hit her with a shoebox.

Bearchild is also facing a robbery charge in connection with the incident. He’s being held in the Spokane County Jail on $1 million bond.