Police investigate burglary at Creach son’s house

Spokane Valley police were searching Wednesday for at least three intruders who ransacked the home of Ernie Creach, son of slain Spokane Valley pastor Wayne Scott Creach.

Ernie Creach said his wife, Laura, arrived at their home Wednesday with their two young children and saw people inside the house near Eighth Avenue and Best Street.

“She thought I had called contractors to work in the house,” Ernie Creach said. “She went in the back door and they went out the other back door. There were at least three of them. Someone went out of a back window, so there may have been more than three.”

The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that the three suspects were all white men in their 20s.

In response, nearby Adams Elementary and St. Mary’s schools were put on lockdown, according to the news release. Central Valley School District spokeswoman Melanie Rose said Evergreen Middle School and Sunrise and Progress elementary schools were placed on heightened alert.

The first floor of the Creaches’ home was ransacked. It appeared the suspected burglars stole a laptop, a .22 caliber pistol, credit cards and other items.

“The living room is in disarray. They pulled the TV off the wall. They were getting ready to load stuff into a basket,” Ernie Creach said.

Sheriff’s deputies, who are contracted to work as police officers in Spokane Valley, responded, and the department used a helicopter to search for the suspects.

“I’m glad the Sheriff’s Office is putting in all the resources they have. At the same time, I’ve got mixed feelings. My dad went out to check on a burglar and was blasted by a deputy. I don’t feel safe at all,” Creach said.

Scott Creach, 74, was shot on Aug. 25 by Deputy Brian Hirzel. That investigation has concluded but Spokane County Prosecutor Steve Tucker has not yet announced whether Hirzel will face criminal charges.

The Sheriff’s Office asks anyone with information about the burglary to call Crime Check at (509) 456-2233.