Two men accused in theft of purse

Two men were arrested Wednesday for allegedly stealing a woman’s purse, then leading officers on a car chase that ended with a crash into a fence.

The woman was in the Safeway parking lot at 2509 E. 29th when a man grabbed her bag. She would not let go and the man dragged the woman a short distance toward his car, police spokesman Dick Cottam said in a press release. She released the bag as the car carrying the two suspects started to drive away.

The woman suffered scrapes to her knees and arms. She was later treated and released from a downtown hospital, Cottam said.

Several witnesses provided a description of the car and its license number. Spokane Police Officer Craig Bulkley spotted the blue Honda and followed on his motorcycle, Cottam said.

The driver ran several red lights and stop signs along East Sprague before crashing into a fence, Cottam said.

One suspect ran to a nearby house, kicked the glass out of a basement window and jumped in. Officers entered the home and found John Clinton Kelley, 31, with a cut on his arm, Cottam said. He was booked for first-degree armed robbery, residential burglary and second-degree theft, Cottam said.

Police arrested 25-year-old James Douglas Kelly in a second home, where he was trying to hide in a bed with the covers pulled over his head, Cottam said. He was booked into jail for inflicting bodily injury during a first-degree robbery, second-degree theft and attempting to elude police.

Both men have extensive criminal histories, Cottam said. The woman’s purse was found in the crashed Honda with all its contents intact.