Deputies say man armed with throwing knives and BB gun spit blood at them

After a struggle last Friday, Spokane Valley deputies took a “disorderly and reportedly armed” man into custody.

After he was detained, deputies found he was in possession of a replica BB gun and throwing knives, according to a Spokane County Sheriff’s Office news release.

Around 9 p.m. Oct. 16, Spokane Valley deputies responded to the report of a man walking on Sprague Avenue, near Pines Road, yelling at passing cars and pulling out a gun from his waistband, the release said.

A deputy found a man matching the description provided near the Denny’s on Pines Road. As the deputy pulled into the parking lot, the man was gone. He found the man hiding between parked vehicles.

The man did not respond and walked away, crossing Sprague. Waiting for him to cross the busy street, the deputy told him he needed to stop. The man reportedly turned around and screamed expletives while objecting.

Trying to deescalate the “highly aggressive and erratic” behavior, the deputy tried to ask questions in a calm tone, the release said.

Not knowing whether the male was suffering a mental crisis, under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or if he was in fact actually armed with a weapon, deputies tried to take control of him, taking him to the ground, the release said.

The man thrashed around, tried to bite a deputy’s boot, hit one deputy in the face, yelled obscenities and “spat, including blood coming from his nose,” at the deputies, the release said.

“Because the male was in dire need of medical treatment and needed to be hospitalized while he was evaluated and observed, he was not arrested,” the release said.

Deputies forwarded a charging request to the Spokane County Prosecutor’s Office recommending charges of third-degree assault, possession of dangerous weapons, and obstructing law enforcement, the release said.