Avista storage site looted

Someone stole more than $5,000 worth of tools and copper wire from an Avista Utilities storage site in Spokane Valley early Wednesday. Employees at 2400 N. Dollar Road believe the thief or thieves cut a padlock from a gate and backed a vehicle into the lot, then removed more than $3,000 in items from five Avista work trucks using a wheelbarrow. Bouten Construction, which also stored items at the site, lost several power tools valued at about $2,000, including two Skil circular saws, two roto hammers and two cordless battery charges. Based on the amount of snow accumulated in footprints, police believe the break-in likely occurred sometime between 4 and 5 a.m. Wednesday, according to the Spokane Valley Police Department. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Check at (509) 456-2233.