MEDICAL LAKE — Most unusual criminal activity in town for August boiled down to the Aug. 27 shooting on Howard Street, where one man was left in critical condition and two others were questioned and detained, Undersheriff Rob Sherar of the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office reported to council at its Sept. 15 meeting.
The council packet included the sheriff’s office’s monthly statistical crime review for August.
The investigation regarding the shooting is still ongoing, but Sherar reported that the incident contributed to aggravated assault statistics and may be related to property crime.
“Other than that, no (crime) spikes to speak of, which is good news,” Sherar informed council.
Sherar said property crime held steadily low. 18 property crimes were reported in the statistical documentation.
Three burglaries were reported, the most of any month in 2020. There have been 10 reported burglaries this year, a consistent pace with 2019, when there were 18.
Eight assault cases were reported, the lowest this year since January. There have been 85 reported assaults this year, fairly in line with 2019, which had 118 reported cases. That was a large drop from 2018, when 149 assault cases were reported.
Six vehicle prowls were reported, the most of any month since April (seven). 28 vehicle prowls have been reported this year, a pace that would end the year slightly lower than 2019, when there were 48 reports.
The vandalism report that may be tied to the Howard Street shooting, per Sherar’s council report, was the only vandalism report in August. There have been 17 reports this year, which is consistent with 2019, which ended with 29 cases.
Identity theft has risen in 2020, with 24 cases reported after just six in 2019 and five in 2018. May was a bad month for cases with 14, but reports have since dropped, with just three reported in August. One fraud case was also reported in August.
Four thefts were reported. The city is on pace to surpass 2019’s total of 34 reports, as 30 have already occurred in 2020. The pace is closer to 2018, when 47 cases were reported.
84 calls for service were initiated by citizens in August, the lowest since April (76). There have been 722 citizen calls for service this year after 1,193 in 2019.
61 of the 84 calls for service received a deputy response. Deputies initiated 49 incidents, the lowest monthly total this year. There were 110 total deputy involved incidents in August and 30 crime check initiated calls for service.
Five tickets were given out, with nine charges between them. Two criminal non-traffic, one criminal traffic and two traffic infraction tickets were disbursed. 39 criminal and 16 non-criminal tickets have been given in 2020.
Drew Lawson can be reached at drew@cheneyfreepress.com.
Reader Comments(0)