SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. — Spokane Valley Major Crimes Detectives arrested a suspect in connection to a shooting that left one man with serious injuries.
In a press release, Spokane County Sheriff's Corporal Mark Gregory reports that Robert Hensley, 32, was arrested a few hours after the shooting. He is charged with first degree robbery, first degree assault and unlawful possession of a firearm.
According to Gregory, reports of a shooting were made at about 2:40 p.m. on Sunday afternoon near North Pines Road and East Sprague Avenue. Deputies found a man who had been shot and was bleeding from his chest in the parking lot of a Walgreens at the intersection, and callers reported that an older white sedan had fled the scene.
Deputies provided aid and asked witnesses for descriptions of the suspect vehicle that was then shared with local law enforcement agencies, according to Gregory. Shortly after, a Spokane police officer stopped a car matching the descriptions near East 5th Avenue and South Thor Street and detained a man and a woman inside the vehicle, Gregory said. The two were taken to the Public Safety Building to be questioned, he added.
The car was seized pending a search warrant, and initial reports have indicated that the man and woman in the car allegedly contacted the victim in the Walgreens parking lot, according to Gregory. After a discussion reportedly escalated, the victim then allegedly reached into the vehicle and a struggle began, Gregory said.
The car then allegedly backed up with the victim hanging out a window, and when it stopped the victim fell to the ground with a gunshot wound as the car fled, according to Gregory.
The victim remains hospitalized and as of Tuesday afternoon was listed in serious condition.
According to Gregory, this is the second time he has been the victim of a shooting. Investigators learned he was also injured in a shooting on Dec. 8, 2020 at a home in the 2200 block of North Indian Bluff Road. Gregory said the victim did not cooperate with investigators.
Gregory said it is not known if the two shootings are related in any other way other than the victim. At this time, no one has been arrested for the Dec. 8, 2020, shooting.
Anyone with information regarding either of these incidents is urged to call Crime Check, reference #2021-10034362 (Pines/Sprague) or 2020-10161014 (Indian Bluff).