Residential Fire Investigation on E. Columbia Drive Continues
Deputies Arrest Male for Warrant, a Charge from Earlier Investigation, & DV Order Violation
On March 22, 2023, at approximately 6:00 am, Spokane County Sheriff’s Deputies and Spokane Valley Deputies responded to assist Spokane County Fire District 9 with a residential fire in the 7800 block of Columbia Drive.
Spokane County Fire District 9, assisted by Spokane Valley Fire and Spokane City Fire, gained control of the fire, and extinguished it. Spokane County Fire District 9 Fire Investigators continue to diligently work to discover the cause and origin of the fire.
Deputies arrived knowing that a male associated with the location, 43-year-old Manuel J. Garcia, had a warrant for his arrest, and if at the residence, he was probably in violation of a Domestic Violence (DV) Order of Protection.
Deputy M. Sullivan observed Garcia at the residence, detained him, and later arrested him after the warrant and the DV Protection Order were confirmed.
The warrant stems from an incident on April 9, 2022, at the same location, where Garcia was arrested after a 5+ hours standoff with SWAT, Negotiators, Rescue Task Force, EDU, and Spokane Regional Air Support Unit personnel. At that time, he was charged with Arson 1st Degree (DV) and Malicious Mischief 2nd Degree.
Today, SVIU Detective J. Oliphant also added an additional charge of Unlawful Possession of a Firearm 2nd Degree.
This charge was added as part of an investigation where Garcia was arrested during the Second Retain Theft Emphasis on March 14, 2023. During this incident, Garcia was arrested for Malicious Mischief 2nd Degree after he was observed damaging the packaging of a tool and removing the store’s antitheft spider wrap security device before purchasing other items with cash and leaving the store. After his arrest, SVIU Detectives located a fully loaded handgun in his pocket, $4,765 in cash, a clear plastic baggie containing several suspected fentanyl pills (approx. 168), a baggie containing a gray substance believed to be a mixture of heroin, fentanyl, carfentanyl and possibly other substance, also known by its street name, “gray death”. Garcia is a convicted felon and prohibited from legally possessing a firearm. Garcia is a convicted felon and prohibited from legally possessing a firearm. The pistol that was in his possession was reported as stolen in Stevens County in 2022.
SVIU Detectives seized Garcia’s vehicle, a 2004 Cadillac Escalade, the $4,765 in cash, drugs, and the handgun. He was booked into jail for Possession of a Controlled Substance with Intent to Deliver, Possession of a Stolen Firearm, Unlawful Possession of a Firearm 1st Degree, and Malicious Mischief 2nd Degree. His total bond was set at $25,000 by the courts, and Garcia bonded out with the aid of a bond company later the next day.
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