Another weird crime case. At first it sounded like a serious situation requiring lots of hardass police action. After it was over, only one thing was clear. These people enjoy fighting and enjoy using the cops and courts as weapons in their perpetual fights. Most likely the car wasn’t stolen and there was no reason for any of the “orders”.
= = = = = START QUOTE:
On October 19, 2026, at approximately 4:30 pm, Spokane Valley Deputies responded to a residence in the 8000 block of E. Broadway Avenue in Spokane Valley.
The caller/victim stated she found her Lexus, which she had reported stolen on October 8, 2026. She also reported that someone had burglarized her home earlier in the summer.
She explained that she was driving around nearby neighborhoods to locate her vehicle when she saw a similar Lexus behind her on Broadway near Park Road. She confirmed it was her stolen car and saw it turn into the driveway of a home in the 8000 block of E. Broadway.
After driving around the block, she didn’t see anyone near her car and couldn’t identify who had been driving it.
Deputies established a perimeter around the home and began PA announcements advising anyone inside to exit, as they worked to obtain a search warrant.
Soon after, an adult male (38) exited the house and Deputies detained him. A check of his name revealed he is a convicted felon and that he was the protected party of a served Domestic Violence No Contact Order. The protection order restrained 43-year-old Nina M. Womble from contacting the male or entering, remaining, or coming within 1000 feet of his location or residence on Broadway. The male identified Womble as the female inside the home.
After being advised of his rights, the male said Womble arrived a couple of days ago with the Lexus, and he didn’t ask her any questions about it. He also admitted he knew about the protection order and didn’t want it in place, but he didn’t have the option to have it dropped. He said Womble was not complying because she didn’t want to go to jail.
Deputies continued to give PA announcements advising Womble to follow commands and exit the home, but she did not comply.
At approximately 6:00 pm, Womble called Crime Check and asked why law enforcement wanted her to exit the residence. Her call was forwarded to a Deputy on scene.
At approximately 6:10 pm, Deputies coaxed her into complying, and she was detained.
After being advised of her rights, Womble agreed to answer questions. She said the male bought the victim’s Lexus for $700 from a Craigslist seller. She was not with the male when he purchased the car, and there was a bill of sale, but she didn’t know where it was. She also said the vehicle’s key was on a bed inside the residence.
Womble and the male gave Deputies consent to retrieve the stolen vehicle and the key.
Because Deputies could not determine who was driving the stolen Lexus when the victim located it, and with both suspects providing differing stories about the Lexus, with neither admitting they knew it was stolen, Deputies could not establish probable cause to charge either of them with theft or knowingly possessing a stolen vehicle.
Lacking the probable cause needed to charge the male, they later released him. Womble was arrested for Violation of a Domestic Violence Order of Protection.
Deputies seized the Lexus as evidence, and the theft investigation remains active.
= = = = = END QUOTE.
