Hit-and-run suspect arrested after allegedly punching deputy in head

A man suspected of a hit-and-run in Spokane Valley punched a deputy before he was arrested on Sunday morning, according to a release from the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office.

Spokane Valley sheriff’s deputies responded to the hit-and-run at about 8:10 a.m. after a witness said they saw a sedan back into an SUV at the Winter Heights Apartments parking lot fast enough to make the car’s airbags deploy, before two occupants left the vehicle and walked into a nearby wooded area, the sheriff’s office said.

Deputies located a man who fit a witness’s description of the driver, later identified as Jesse D. Thomas, 32, the sheriff’s office said. Thomas complied with deputies at first, but resisted after a deputy attempted to put him in handcuffs. The arresting deputy requested backup.

Thomas punched the deputy in the head after the two went to the ground during a struggle. After another deputy arrived, one of them used a stun gun to detain Thomas, the sheriff’s office said.

Thomas was booked into the Spokane County Jail on suspicion of third-degree assault, hit and run, and resisting arrest.