Man charged with killing 40-year-old woman on North Hamilton Street

A 41-year-old man was charged in the death of a 40-year-old woman last month on North Hamilton Street in Spokane.

Travis R. Johnson is in the Kootenai County Jail on unrelated charges, according to a Spokane Police Department news release. Spokane police detectives are working with the Spokane County Prosecutor’s Office to transfer Johnson to Spokane County to face a murder charge.

The Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victim as Jackie Wessels, who was shot multiple times.

Spokane police said officers were called at about 7:30 a.m. July 21 to a house in the 2500 block of North Hamilton Street after gunshots were heard. Officers found Wessels and spoke to witnesses.

One of the people who called police said he was the victim’s son, and found her dead in the main bedroom, court records say. He said he asked a man who was woodworking outside on the back porch what happened. The man said he didn’t know, but was going to leave before law enforcement showed because he had outstanding warrants, according to court documents.

Neighbors told police they saw a dark SUV pull up in the alley beside the home and watched two men get out and enter the house. Both men left the house in a hurry with a computer monitor and a black bag before driving away, documents say.

One tenant of the home said he saw two men in the living room that day with a gun on the table. The tenant left to go to the gas station, picked up a person there, came back to the house and started using methamphetamine with that person. That’s when they heard loud bangs from downstairs, according to court records.

The Kootenai County Jail roster says Coeur d’Alene police arrested Johnson July 29 on suspicion of several drug charges.