Suspected car prowler reported for aiming handgun at man; turned out to be BB gun

Spokane Valley deputies responded to a call Wednesday morning that a suspected car prowler had aimed a handgun at a man who questioned him. Deputies found the handgun was actually a BB gun, according to a Spokane county Sheriff’s Office news release.

Deputies responded at about 10:50 a.m. to the report of a man breaking into cars in the 10800 block of East Nora Street .

The caller said he saw a man standing next to his sister’s car. He told the man to leave and then noticed items inside the car had been moved around.

The caller drove to the man, who had left at the caller’s request, and confronted him. The caller said the man threw a flashlight at him and then took off his backpack and pulled out a semi-automatic pistol, saying, “I don’t want any trouble.”

Several deputies arrived in the area to search for the man A resident in the 1500 block of North Glenn Street reported a man was in his neighbor’s backyard trying to hide by a shed, the release said.

From the backyard, a deputy saw a man “sweating profusely” and matching the suspect’s description walk out of a yard, the release said. Deputies took Bogdan Pustovit, 28, into custody and learned he had dumped his backpack when he fled. The BB gun inside it was “not easily distinguishable from a real firearm,” the release said.

Pustovitz had a misdemeanor warrant for vehicle prowling and possession of stolen property. . He was booked into Spokane County Jail for his warrant and on misdemeanor charges of vehicle trespassing and assault for brandishing and intimidating with a weapon. He was released on his own recognizance.