Men attempting to repossess car near Airway Heights shot at

Spokane Sheriff’s deputies arrested a 51-year-old man Wednesday on suspicion that he shot at two men seeking to repossess a car.

At about 9 p.m. Tuesday on the 20900 block of West Indiana Lane, two men were attempting to find a car and repossess it.

The two men were walking up a driveway on the block when they were confronted by a man with flashlight. The two men provided a name and asked if that man was at the house. The men were told no one by that name was there.

The two men went back to their truck to decide what to do next, according to the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office.

That’s when the men heard gunshots and the truck’s back window shattered.

The two sped away, but the driver lost control of the truck on the icy and rutted road and crashed into a wooden post in a nearby driveway, the sheriff’s office said.

Eventually, the two repossession workers were able to drive away, but deputies stopped them at North Christensen Road and Tracy Lane.

They told deputies that the shooter was driving a dark-colored Dodge diesel pickup and had been following them.

A Dodge pickup driven by Robert W. Edens then drove past without slowing down or stopping, according to the sheriff’s office.

Deputies stopped Edens and detained him along with another man who was a passenger in the pickup.

Edens told the deputies he got a text saying someone was prowling his garage. So he retrieved his 12-gauge shotgun and went down to the end of his driveway where the truck was parked.

He told deputies that he didn’t know why the truck was there, but thought it was suspicious. Edens told deputies he then fired three to five warning shots in the air and at the ground, but did not actually shoot at the truck.

Edens told deputies that pellets from his gun did not hit the truck. He said some “squirrely people” had been coming by his house lately and he was protecting his property, according to a sheriff’s office statement.

Deputies told Edens that in Washington he could not use deadly force to protect his property. Eden noted that perhaps he should move to Idaho, according to deputies.

Deputies found Edens’ gun on his porch and five shotgun casings at the end of his driveway.

Edens was charged with two counts of first-degree assault Wednesday.

Neither of the repossession workers was shot, but the passenger received medical attention for lower back pain.