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

Teen gang member shoots toward children during kidnapping and robbery, police say

Police say a 16-year-old gang member shot toward children Saturday during a kidnapping and robbery of a 15-year-old acquaintance.

On Saturday, the suspect texted the victim, asking to talk, and she agreed. He drove to her house at about 1:30 p.m. and she got in the passenger seat of his Ford Taurus with tinted windows. The suspect drove off, according to police.

Court records say the victim got a text from another friend, who wanted to give her money to give to her dad for fixing his car. The suspect and the victim drove to get the money, $120 in total, and the victim put it in her backpack.

The suspect began demanding the money, but the victim would not give it to him. He pulled out a handgun from the car’s center console and started driving. The suspect threatened the victim and pulled the car over near Freya Street and Carlisle Avenue in northeast Spokane.

The suspect threatened to shoot nearby children who were playing down the street if he didn’t get the money. He allegedly rolled down his window, stuck the gun out, pointed it at the children and pulled the trigger one or two times, court records state.

The suspect drove away from the scene. The children did not report the gunshots to police, and no injuries were reported, court documents state, but police later found a spent shell casing at the scene.

The suspect continued to threaten the victim and drove up to a man in an alley near Liberty Avenue and Rebecca Street. He put a blue bandana over his face and said he was going to shoot the man if she didn’t give him the money, and the victim then gave the suspect the money, according to court documents.

The suspect pointed the gun at her and said that “he would kill her if she reported this incident to police. He also told her that his gang knows where she lives.”

The victim called her mother to pick her up, and the two drove back to their house and reported the crime, although the victim did not initially want to report the crimes out of fear for her life.

An officer went to the house to interview the victim, and a red car slowly drove by the house during the interview. The victim said it belonged to a friend of the suspect, court records stated.

Officers went to the suspect’s house on the 500 block of South Greene Street and found a car that matched the description of the car provided by the victim. Police surrounded the house and the suspect came out and was arrested, according to police. No gun was found on the property.

The suspect has two prior felony convictions – attempting to elude and attempted robbery.

He was booked into the Spokane County Juvenile Detention Center on suspicion of kidnapping, robbery and unlawful possession of a gun.