Spokane Police arrest man on felony assault, drug charges

A man, who in 2017 was convicted of a felony in connection to the death of a Spokane man, was arrested earlier this week after officers found facial injuries on his girlfriend.

Spokane Police arrested 29-year-old Brettly E. Sanderson on Tuesday on charges of domestic violence-related second-degree assault, possession of a controlled substance, obstructing law enforcement, unlawful imprisonment, tampering with evidence and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.

As of Saturday evening, Sanderson remained in the Spokane County Jail on a $250,000 bond.

Police spokesman Officer Daniel Strassenberg said in a news release that the situation that led to Sanderson’s most recent arrest started at about 1:45 p.m. on Tuesday when officers were dispatched to the 3200 block of North Smith Street to check on the welfare of a young woman.

The woman’s family earlier had called for help after having no contact with her for several days. They noted that she had also not gone to work.

Officers arrived at the North Smith residence and spoke to a neighbor who said the woman in question “was heard jumping from the second story apartment window a couple days prior,” Strassenberg wrote.

When officers approached, Sanderson answered the door and told officers that his girlfriend was inside and they both were sick, Strassenberg said.

“Officers were finally able to see the female in the background and eventually were able to have her come outside so she could call her family,” Strassenberg said. “Officers observed injuries to her face and ear.”

The woman then told the officers that Sanderson had assaulted her with a clothes hanger and had bitten her. She also told them that guns were present inside the residence.

Based on that interview, officers detained Sanderson inside the apartment.

“While in handcuffs, Sanderson would lunge towards a nearby table and appeared to quickly swallow something,” Strassenberg wrote. “After being examined at a local hospital for possible ingestion of drugs, Brettly Sanderson was booked into the Spokane County Jail.”

His most recent arrest follows a killing of 48-year-old David K. Chester that occurred on Sept. 15, 2017.

At that time, Sanderson, then 21, faced a charge of second-degree murder after a witness claimed that Sanderson shot Chester. According to online court records, a jury failed to convict Sanderson on the original murder charge.

However, the records show that as part of the same set of allegations, Sanderson later pleaded guilty in 2019 to a felony, which included a three-year enhancement for felony possession of a firearm.

At that time, Spokane County Superior Court Judge Michael Price sentenced Sanderson to serve just less than seven years in prison. Online records did not indicate on Saturday when Sanderson was released from prison.

Prior to the 2017 homicide, Sanderson was charged as an adult in 2012 in connection with a reported home-invasion robbery by three men. Victims said one of the assailants carried a sawed-off shotgun. At the time of his arrest, Sanderson was 16.