Deputies arrest erratic, armed suspect at Spokane Valley Walmart | news

Tacoma

SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. — Spokane Valley deputies arrested a man they say was armed and acting erratic at a Walmart in Spokane Valley.

Deputies responded to reports of a man jumping on a vehicle and trying to light it on fire in the parking lot of the Walmart on East Broadway Avenue. Witnesses also originally said they saw the man armed with a handgun, but the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office says it ended up being a torch.

Deputies contacted the suspect — 31-year-old James Jennings — where he was armed with a large kitchen knife, a baseball bat, a batting helmet and a pole/bar.

Deputies were using a taser on Jennings but it wasn’t working because he was wearing thick clothing. However, with another taser deployment and the use of pepper spray, they were able to take Jennings into custody.

SCSO says Jennings had a self-inflicted knife wound to his upper leg. After he got medical attention on the scene, Jennings was taken to the hospital.

Jennings was eventually booked into the Spokane County Jail for first-degree robbery, second-degree reckless endangerment first-degree reckless burning and obstructing.