Update: Investigators Seize 8 Firearms and Stolen Property
Detectives added 3 additional charges of Possession of a Stolen Firearm to Lawrence T. Brown’s booking sheet Thursday afternoon. Brown, a 39-year-old convicted felon, was arrested and booked on April 11, 2017 for Unlawful Possession of a Firearm (8 counts), Possession of an Unlawful Firearm, Possession of a Stolen Firearm, and Possession of Stolen Property 2nd Degree. His bond amount for the original charges was set at $20,000 but after his first appearance for the 3 new felony charges on Friday, an additional $150,000 in bond was added.
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Investigators Seize 8 Firearms and Stolen Property
Spokane Valley Investigative Unit (SVIU) Detectives, assisted by the Sheriff’s Office SWAT Team, successfully served a search warrant early this morning and seized 8 firearms, including one reported stolen and a modified (shortened) 10 gage shotgun, and stolen property.
Early this morning, SWAT Team members assisted SVIU Detectives serving a search warrant at a residence located in the 2500 block of North Perry. They arrested 39-year-old Lawrence T. Brown, a convicted felon, for Unlawful Possession of a Firearm (8 counts), Possession of an Unlawful Firearm, Possession of a Stolen Firearm, and Possession of Stolen Property 2nd Degree.
Today’s search warrant stems from an ongoing SVIU investigation which encompasses at least seven reported incidents committed throughout the City of Spokane, Spokane Valley and Spokane County and involved several victims.
As part of this investigation, Detective Mark Renz identified 29-year-old Rachel P. Ward-White as a suspect involved in these crimes. This includes an incident last December which was caught on store surveillance video at Goodwill in Spokane Valley where Ward-White brazenly stole a purse from the shopping cart with the victim standing right next to it.
On April 6, 2017, Ward-White was arrested and booked into the Spokane County Jail for Possession of a Stolen Motor Vehicle, Theft 2nd Degree (8 counts), Identity Theft 1st Degree (4 counts), Possession of a Controlled Substance and Theft 3rd Degree (3 counts). Ward-White is currently being held on a $17,500 bond for these charges.
As SVIU detectives continued to investigate this multipronged case, they identified Brown as a possible suspect who was believed to be in possession of a stolen Glock pistol and stolen property taken during a burglary on April 4, 2017 and obtained the search warrant executed this morning leading to his arrest.
The investigation continues as detectives follow leads, contact victims/witnesses and work to identify any additional, possibly connected, cases.
Sheriff Knezovich stated, “Yet another case where repeat offenders are out in our community victimizing citizens, stealing and possessing firearms, including another sawed-off shotgun similar to one used in the attempted murder of a deputy two weeks ago. We need to stop looking at property crimes as ‘nonviolent’ folks, because they aren’t. We need to get serious with repeat offenders, hold them accountable and keep them off our streets.”
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