Spokane Valley deputies searching for armed suspect they say hid out on apartment balcony

Spokane Valley deputies were searching for an armed and dangerous suspect Wednesday after he fled from law enforcement .

The suspect, identified as 28-year-old Julian A. Hernandez, is considered armed and dangerous, and was last seen Wednesday morning on the 17000 block of N. Flora at an apartment complex, according to a Spokane Valley Police Department news release.

The photo of Hernandez the department released is out-of-date, authorities said, as he is now bald with no facial hair and has more tattoos. He is 5-foot-7 and weighs 250 pounds.

Hernandez has an Idaho felony probation violation warrant against him and faces multiple felonies after his actions on Wednesday.

Law enforcement officers found Hernandez when responding to a caller who requested a medical welfare check of occupants inside a vehicle who were reported as unresponsive.

Deputies spoke to him briefly, finding obvious signs of illegal drug use, according to the press release.

During the conversation, Hernandez suddenly sped off in his vehicle. Deputies in pursuit had to cut the chase short to protect the public, according to Mark Gregory, a spokesman for the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies later found his abandoned and crashed vehicle near Flora and Mission Ave. Authorities received calls about a man matching his appearance at the N. Flora apartment complex not too far from the crash site.

Ammunition was found inside his crashed vehicle, leading deputies to designate Hernandez as armed and dangerous.

Deputies failed to find him and left the area, but were then called 45 minutes later after someone reported an intruder was spotted on the balcony of the same apartment complex at around 10:30 a.m.

Police established a perimeter around the complex, and K9 units, a helicopter and UAVs searched the area for several hours, according to Gregory.

Hernandez is facing attempting to elude law enforcement, burglary and several other felony and misdemeanor charges.

Anyone with information on Hernandez should call 911 immediately and use caution if they see him as he is considered armed and dangerous, police say.