Grand Coulee man tasered, arrested

Police arrested a Grand Coulee man Saturday after he allegedly broke free from an arresting officer and was later found in a Hill Avenue apartment.

Officer Gary Moore had first contacted Lorenzo Stewart, 46, of 411 Partello Park, when he saw him walking on Spokane Way.

Moore stated in his report that he had read of a warrant out for Stewart and confronted him.

Upon checking, Moore found that Stewart was actually wanted on two warrants and there was a request to pick him up.

While Moore was attempting to put cuffs on him, Stewart broke free and started to run, Moore’s report states. That’s when Moore tried to chase him down and fell in the snow, injuring his right knee. He got up and fired his taser stun gun, hitting Stewart in the back.

Moore tried to subdue Stewart again, but fell again on the snow-covered ground, giving the man time to break away. Both fell in the snow, but Stewart was able to get up and run down the alley behind the Center Lodge Motel.

Officers looked for the man but couldn’t find him until a call came in that he might be at a Hill Avenue apartment.

Officer Joe Higgs responded and found Stewart in an upstairs room at the apartment and called for him to come down. Stewart was arrested, and he complained to police that he had hurt himself in one of the falls and wanted to go to the hospital.

While there, he was told that he would be charged with assault in the third degree, escape in the third degree and resisting arrest in addition to the two warrants. The warrants were issued in connection with charges of making a false statement to a law enforcement officer and driving while his license was suspended.

Moore’s report stated that, while at the hospital, Stewart said, “I am going to go out in a blaze of glory, I’m going to take a bunch of you … with me.” Then Stewart looked at Moore and said, “You do the math,” Moore’s report states.

Moore’s took that as a threat.

Police were also going to request that charges of lying to a police officer be filed against Sherry Crinklaw, who they say initially told officers at the apartment that Stewart was not there.