Accused Robber Leads Police On Chase After High-Speed Chase From North Idaho To Spokane Valley, Suspect In Car Theft, Burglaries, Robbery Arrested After He Jumped Into Spokane River
FOR THE RECORD (July 1, 1997): Incorrect location: An accused thief fleeing a Kootenai County sheriff’s deputy drove west on Seltice Way from State Line, Idaho. A story in Monday’s Spokesman-Review identified the road incorrectly.
A man accused of car theft, three burglaries and an armed robbery led police on a tire-squealing chase from North Idaho through the Spokane Valley and finally into the chilly waters of the Spokane River.
Roger M. Hotrum, 33, was arrested Sunday after he ditched a stolen pickup truck and jumped into the river near Maringo Drive, the Spokane County Sheriff’s Department reported.
Hotrum was booked by deputies on a charge of first-degree robbery. The Washington State Patrol will also seek charges of attempting to elude police.
And the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department is also investigating, and will likely add three additional counts of burglary.
“It started off the day with a rush,” said Kootenai County sheriff’s Lt. Neal Robertson. “It was supposed to be a nice, lazy, rainy Sunday.”
The incident started at about 9:30 a.m., when a man driving a white convertible Mercury Cougar tried to break into a house near 16th and Greensferry Road in Post Falls, deputies said.
The noise awakened someone inside the house who scared the burglar away - but not before the witness got a look at the getaway car.
As deputies arrived, two other reports were telephoned to dispatchers. Not far from the first house in Post Falls, someone reported finding their home ransacked. Another caller complained that a man broke into a nearby home, but ran off once he realized someone was inside.
Kootenai County deputies believe the Mercury Cougar was stolen several days ago from Spokane. A deputy patrolled the area near the Idaho border, finally spotting the car heading west on Saltese Road in the Stateline Village. The deputy followed the fleeing convertible into Washington, but lost sight of the car not far from the state line.
According to Spokane County Sheriff’s Lt. Ken Marshall, deputies found the car abandoned at Powell and Queen in Otis Orchards. A witness reported seeing a man running - with a gun - through nearby rural fields.
Sheriff’s deputies received another call at 10:05 a.m. from the owner of an Otis Orchards home. A man had robbed the owner at gunpoint, demanding a video camera and the keys to a blue 1995 Mazda pickup. The WSP reported that the suspect also took some jewelry.
Twenty minutes later, two state troopers spotted the stolen pickup at Trent and Pines. The pickup turned west onto Empire, racing the troopers at speeds of up to 100 mph. The troopers threaded the Valley streets from behind, chasing the suspect from Empire, north onto Argonne and finally east onto Maringo Drive.
The suspect then plowed the truck through a fence near the banks of the Spokane River, ran from the truck and jumped into the cold, quick current.
Trooper Bryant Blake and two Spokane County sheriff’s deputies were waiting on the bank when Hotrum apparently had a change of heart about swimming to the other side. He headed back toward shore, was arrested and taken to Spokane County Jail.
By 12:50 p.m., the Spokane County Dive Team found a gun believed to be the one Hotrum is accused of using to steal the pickup.
Kootenai County’s Robertson didn’t say what items were stolen in Post Falls.
According to the Spokane County Sheriff’s Department, Hotrum has a long arrest record in Washington, including a first-degree armed burglary arrest in January 1990.
A records check on Hotrum in Kootenai County showed no arrests.
, DataTimes MEMO: Cut in Spokane Edition