Spokane County Sheriff’s Office identifies man suspected of stealing kayak to evade police

A man arrested Tuesday on suspicion he stole a kayak in an attempt to evade police on Newman Lake has been identified as Robert Rehfeldt.

The suspect was previously unidentified because he allegedly refused to give his name to law enforcement.

The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office says the 35-year-old attempted to rob a garage on the 2300 block of Bearz Lane at about 7:30 a.m. A neighbor told police that Rehfeldt seemed “out of it,” according to a sheriff’s office statement.

Rehfeldt asked the neighbor not to call police and said that men were coming to kill him, according to the statement. He then ran barefoot into thick brush.

Deputies searched the area but could not find Rehfeldt.

They responded to the same area two hours later to reports of a suspicious male matching Rehfeldt’s description.

Witnesses told deputies that Rehfeldt attempted to break into homes in the area before stealing a red kayak and paddling toward the east shore, according to the statement.

A Spokane Regional helicopter assisted from the air and located Rehfeldt.

Deputies with a K-9 began to approach Rehfeldt on the ground where he initially complied but resisted arrest as he was being handcuffed, according to the Sheriff’s Dept.

Deputies deployed a stun gun, but it was ineffective. A K9 was released and Rehfeldt was handcuffed without further incident, according to the statement.

Rehfeldt was booked in Spokane County Jail on charges of burglary, theft and resisting arrest as of Wednesday afternoon.