See It! Say It! - Citizen’s Calls Lead Deputies to Arrests
We are thankful for the great relationship and partnership we have with our community. Here are a couple of examples of people seeing possible criminal activity and taking the step to say (report) their observations which led to three arrests.
1) On March 5, 2019, just after 7:00 a.m., Spokane Valley Deputy Tim Jones and Deputy Roman Maier responded to the report of a trespassing call in the area of the 600 block of N. Argonne.
The caller reported seeing a green minivan at the location parked near a dumpster and a male was observed discarding items into it.
When the Deputies arrived, they contacted the male, identified as 56-year-old Samuel A. Ross and a female, identified as 54-year-old Kathryn E. Mickelson. Ross stated they had been at the location for about an hour and a half and admitted to throwing away “just a beer can”.
A check of their names revealed they had active warrants for their arrest. Both were arrested and booked into the Spokane County Jail.
Ross was charged as a Fugitive from Justice due to a felony, no bail warrant out of Idaho for possession of Dangerous Drugs. Mickelson was booked for a local misdemeanor warrant for Reckless Driving.
2) On March 6, 2019, at approximately 2:45 a.m., Spokane Valley Deputy Ben Stolz responded to suspicious/drugs call in the 6600 block of E. Broadway. The caller reported a suspicious vehicle where the driver appeared to be using a needle to take drugs.
Deputy Stolz arrived at the location and located the vehicle as described. As he approached the driver’s window, he observed a male, later identified as 27-year-old Jacob A. Robideaux, inside. Robideaux’s right sleeve was rolled up revealing what appeared to be injection marks in his arm. Deputy Stolz also observed tin foil, syringes and orange syringe caps on the floorboard of the vehicle and a silver spoon on the passenger’s seat.
Deputy Stolz contacted Robideaux and explained that someone reported seeing him using drugs. Robideaux spontaneously uttered, “Man, I’m just a small heroin user.”
Deputy Stolz had Robideaux step out of the vehicle, detained him and advised him of his rights. A “loaded” syringe, containing a brown liquid believed to be heroin, was also observed on the floor between the driver’s seat and the door.
After receiving consent to search the vehicle, Deputy Stolz located an additional spoon, several un-used syringes and a pair of brass knuckles underneath the driver’s seat.
Robideaux was transported and booked into the Spokane County Jail for Possession of a Controlled Substance-Heroin and Possession of a Dangerous Weapon-Brass Knuckles.
