Three men accused of robbing driver, exchanging gunfire with him near B.A. Clark Park

Three young men are accused of robbing a 31-year-old and then exchanging gunfire with him, leaving a boy who was with the alleged robbers injured, late last month near B.A. Clark Park in north Spokane.

Terry R. Reifer, 24, Le’ron R. Tolefree, 21, and Sage E. Aiken, 18, were arrested last weekend on suspicion of first-degree robbery and drive-by shooting for the June 29 gunfire near North Calispel Street and West Lacrosse Avenue, according to a Spokane Police Department news release Thursday.

The trio were scheduled for arraignments Thursday afternoon. Reifer remained in Spokane County Jail on a $1 million bond, and Tolefree and Aiken were each jailed on $100,000 bonds Thursday.

Officers received reports of a shooting about 12:45 a.m. June 29 near the park, according to court documents. Several callers reported hearing gunshots and seeing people running. Officers found a trail of blood, three spent cartridge casings of the same caliber, several spent cartridge casings of a different caliber and a pool of blood in the area.

They also found a red Gucci bag with suspected cocaine inside it.

Police received a call a short time later from Providence Holy Family Hospital where a boy was dropped off with a gunshot wound to his hand and another to his leg. Police wrote that the boy was “very uncooperative” as he refused to identify who he was with or why he was on Calispel Street. His injuries were considered life-threatening and he was transferred to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center.

One woman, whose house was struck with a bullet, told police she heard gunshots outside her home and believed she saw a male chasing after three males while shooting.

Another neighbor told police he was awoken by gunshots and then saw and heard a male groaning in pain. He saw two or three other men drag the injured boy and load him into a vehicle.

Video footage from a home shows an SUV pulling up to a curb at 12:23 a.m. June 29, court records show. A male gets out of the car six minutes later and walks away before returning a short time later with three other males. The four males get into the SUV. The group then exits the car and appears to chat before at least three of them walk away.

Twenty minutes after the SUV parked, the same three males who walked up and got into the SUV approach the car and an argument ensues. The males order the driver to open the trunk and the driver pleads, “I got kids.”

The trunk of the SUV opens and the male standing at the back of the vehicle reaches into the truck and removes a bag that appears to be the Gucci bag. Police wrote in court documents the male immediately reached into the bag and removed a specific item without searching, leading police to believe the suspects knew what they were looking for. One of the suspects could be heard telling the driver to empty his pockets. The three alleged robbers then run away.

The driver then gets out of the SUV and runs after the three males, pointing a gun and firing three shots, the video shows. Another 10 gunshots can be heard.

A few seconds pass and three gunshots with a different sound ring out. The driver of the SUV returns into camera view, running to the SUV and driving away.

A large sum of cash, a rose gold iPhone and a receipt for Satellite Diner & Lounge from the night before were located nearby. The money could be seen on video falling from the driver’s lap as he gets out of the car to chase and shoot at Reifer, Tolefree, Aiken and the boy.

Surveillance footage from Satellite Diner and other cameras showed Reifer getting out of the same SUV. Reifer spoke to the driver, who would later shoot at him and the others, before going into the diner.

A woman told police she drove Tolefree, Aiken and the boy to B.A. Clark Park at their direction.

She said the three males were texting with Reifer, who was with the SUV driver, planning the robbery. She told police the boy, Tolefree and Aiken got out of her car and the SUV passed by and parked.

She then heard a few gunshots about five minutes later and Tolefree came back to the car telling her the boy was shot. She drove to Aiken and the injured boy, who Aiken and Tolefree loaded into the car. Reifer then got into the car, and she drove away.

She let the three suspects out at a townhouse and then dropped the boy off at Holy Family Hospital, she said.

She told police she was present when Tolefree, Aiken and the boy got guns from an Idaho gun show the day before the alleged shooting. Spokane police contacted Reifer on June 27 and seized a vehicle he was associated with that contained several guns, at least some of which belonged to Tolefree, Aiken and the boy, according to court records. She said the trio always had guns on them and believed they did near B.A. Clark Park as well.

Police seized ammunition, black ski masks, a pistol magazine and a bag of zip ties and electrical tape from the woman’s vehicle.

Spokane police’s Gun Crime Unit continues to investigate and more charges are possible, police said in the release.