SPOKANE, Wash. — Police are investigating two drive-by shootings that occurred early Tuesday morning in north and south areas of Spokane.
The first drive-by shooting was reported at about midnight in the area of 600 S. Howard Street, police said. Numerous shell casings were found at the scene but no vehicles were located.
Police said reports indicated that a white sedan was involved.
At about 5:51 a.m. on Tuesday, another drive-by shooting was reported in the area of Boone Avenue and Walnut Street, police said. A caller described one of the vehicles as a red PT Cruiser.
Officers arrived on scene and confirmed nobody in the area had been hit by gunfire. They recovered a shell casing at the location.
A graveyard officer headed to the shooting spotted the PT Cruiser near Division Street and Mission Avenue and initiated a pursuit of the vehicle that lasted about six minutes, police said.
Police said the driver of the vehicle and its other occupants fled from the car after they abandoned it in an alley in the 900 block of E. Indiana Avenue. The driver, 29-year-old Roman M. Shrader, was taken into custody after a brief struggle.
A K-9 track was started and a woman surrendered without contact, according to police.
Police saw an empty holster and a firearm inside the vehicle. Officers seized the car as evidence while a search warrant is sought to recover the firearm.
Other officers had located what appeared to be the victim vehicle, a white Impala, in the area of Ash Street and Sharp Avenue, police said. The vehicle appeared to have been struck by a bullet but no occupants had been injured. This vehicle was also seized as evidence.
Shrader was arrested for drive-by shooting, first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm and attempting to elude a police vehicle. He was booked into the Spokane County Jail.
Shrader is a convicted felon, which prohibits him from lawfully possessing firearms, police said. He has 13 felony convictions in Washington state.
Those with information regarding either drive-by shooting, including surveillance video, who have not already spoken to law enforcement are asked to call Crime Check at 509-456-2233 and reference #2020-20148127.
