Law Enforcement Reports
The following law enforcement reports were posted Friday, May 1, 2026:
EPHRATA POLICE
A report of suspicious circumstances was received at 9:24 p.m. Thursday, April 30, in the 400 block of 11th Avenue S.W. Police were told that voices were heard in a dugout at the Parkway Field baseball complex. An officer located an intoxicated male subject who was talking on the phone with a friend. The friend responded to the location and transported the man to a local motel.
A domestic disturbance was reported at 12:50 p.m. Wednesday, April 29, in the 2200 block of Basin Street S.W. Officers were told that a female subject scratched a 35-year-old male acquaintance and threw glassware during an argument. Sayda Villatoro Castro, 27, Soap Lake, was arrested and booked into the Grant County Jail on suspicion of fourth-degree assault (domestic violence) and third-degree malicious mischief (domestic violence).
At 9:28 p.m. Tuesday, April 28, police were notified of a juvenile runaway from Moses Lake. Officers located the 12-year-old boy in the 200 block of Nat Washington Way. When approached, the boy allegedly hit an officer and was found with marijuana in his possession. The boy was taken into custody for assault of a law enforcement officer and a controlled substance violation.
A verbal dispute was reported at 12:43 p.m. Tuesday, April 28, in the 200 block of C Street S.E. The complainant said she was moving out of an apartment and her roommmate would not allow her to take the cats, which had been moved to another location. An office explained that cats are considered personal property and the dispute was a civil matter. The complainant contacted police again around 4 p.m., claiming the cats had been stolen and it was a matter of theft. Police again advised it was a civil matter to be handled in small claims court.
A disturbance was reported at 11:43 a.m. Monday, April 27, in the 1100 block of Basin Street S.W. A Moses Lake resident told police that he saw a man littering at the location and refusing to pick up the material when confronted during an ensuing verbal argument. The complainant then blocked the alleged litterer from leaving until the debris was cleaned up. Officers arrived, separated the parties, and determined their dispute did not meet a legal threshold for criminal harassment. The one subject did clean up the litter before leaving.
A report of suspicious circumstances was reported at 6:41 p.m. Saturday, April 25, in the 100 block of First Avenue N.W. Police were told that a male subject was loitering near the Ephrata Post Office. An officer contacted the man, who was lying on the sidewalk and explained that he was “waiting on an apartment in town.” The man was advised to wait across the street at the Amtrak multi-modal center.
At 11:54 a.m. Saturday, April 25, police were advised of three unauthorized encampments in a field east of a location near Nat Washington Way SE. An officer contacted three male subjects: two were described as cooperative with packing up their tent and leaving; one was described as uncooperative and facing possible citation.
On Saturday, April 25, police located two wanted subjects camping in a van in the 100 block of Ninth Avenue S.E. The two individuals were suspects in the forced break-in of a storage shed on April 23 at St. Rose of Lima School in the 500 block of Nat Washington Way. William T. LaRoque, 42, Ephrata, and Tiffany L. Price, 35, Moses Lake, were arrested and booked into jail on suspicion of second-degree burglary, third-degree theft, and third-degree malicious mischief.
SOAP LAKE POLICE
Police were notified at 6:27 a.m. Wednesday, April 29, of large rocks in the roadway on State Route 17 just north of Soap Lake. An officer said he removed several “basketball-sized rocks” from the highway, and notified the state Department of Transportation about the ongoing hazards over the past several days.
At 1:20 p.m. Monday, April 27, a 76-year-old woman in the 600 block of Third Place S.E. told police that her son was breaking into her property and yelling and calling her names. She asked for him to be trespassed from the premises and damaging property.
At 6:05 p.m. on Saturday, April 25, police located a male subject near the intersection of State Routes 28 East and 17 North who was wanted on several outstanding district court warrants. Arturo Julian Rodriguez, 25, Moses Lake, was taken into custody on additional charges of resisting arrest and harassment/threats to kill. He was booked into the Grant County Jail.
At 1:33 p.m. last Friday, April 24, police located a wanted subject in the 100 block of C Street N.W. in Ephrata. John Robert Fencl, 54, Soap Lake, was taken into custody on outstanding district court warrants and booked into the county jail.
The following persons were cited for driving/vehicle offenses over the past week: Juan Rivas Vega, 56, Soap Lake, failure to transfer vehicle title, expired registration and no proof of vehicle liability insurance; Bobby Peters, 43, Coulee City, driving while license suspended; Kolby Brown, 32, Ephrata, driving while license suspended; two 17-year-old Soap Lake boys, no valid operators’ licenses, no proof of vehicle liability insurance, and speeding; Lea Valencia, 21, Warden, driving while license suspended; Amador Silva Ochoa, 29, Soap Lake, driving while license susended.
GRANT COUNTY SHERIFF
A trespassing incident was reported at 12:01 a.m. Thursday, April 30, in the 6900 block of Road U-SE. Authorities were told that a male subject was at the property of a female acquaintance and allegedly assaulted her. Mark Anthony Brown, 58, Tacoma, was arrested on suspicion of fourth-degree assault (domestic violence) and booked into the Grant County Jail.
At 6:42 p.m. Tuesday, April 28, authorities were told that a male subject was filming a female acquaintance at a public fishing area along State Route 262 East in the vicinity of the Potholes Reservoir. Deputies determined the man, identified as 57-year-old Andrew Jackson Calvert IV, was in violation of a court no-contact/protection order. He was taken into custody and booked into jail.
A domestic disturbance was reported at 6:56 p.m. Tuesday, April 28, in the 17200 block of Road B.5-NE. The complainant said her sister had been assaulted by a male acquaintance. Mitchell Lee Barmore, 27, Ephrata, was arrested and booked into jail on suspicion of fourth-degree assault (domestic violence).
An assault was reported at 4:51 p.m. Monday, April 27, in the 9700 block of Road 22.7-NE near Stratford. A 73-year-old resident told authorities that he was struck in the right hip by a vehicle driven by a neighbor, who also hit the complainant’s parked car, damaging a fender. Ronald Eugene Henke, 68, Stratford, was arrested near the scene and booked into jail on suspicion of assault and hit-and-run (unattended vehicle damage).
A report of suspicious circumstances was reported at 9:13 p.m. Sunday, April 26, in the 8000 block of Road 1-SE, near Warden. The complainant said a male acquaintance had been following her and a friend. Zane Daniel Hill, 20, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, was arrested on suspicion of stalking and booked into jail.
A domestic disturbance was reported at 11:07 a.m. Sunday, April 26, in the 4100 block of Orchard Drive NE near Moses Lake. The complainant said she was struck twice by a male acquaintance, who also allegedly broke some possessions. Damien Luke Alpine, 30, Moses Lake, was arrested and booked into jail on suspicion of fourth-degree assault (domestic violence) and malicious mischief (domestic violence).
A trespassing incident was reported at 9:02 a.m. Sunday, April 26, in the 11000 block of Neppel Road NE near Moses Lake. The complainant said a male subject had climbed over a fence and entered his business office. Gary Lee Dominguez, 66, Moses Lake, was arrested for first-degree criminal trespassing and booked into jail.
A traffic collision involving property damage was reported at 6:39 p.m. Saturday, April 25, in the 4300 block of McConihe Road NE near Moses Lake. The complainant said a driver, described as intoxicated, had crashed his vehicle through a fence. Angel Gabriel Avila Cortes, 18, Moses Lake, was arrested and booked into jail on suspicion of driving under the influence.
A non-injury traffic collision was reported at 7:18 p.m. last Thursday, April 23, in the 200 block of Railroad Street in Wilson Creek. Deputies were told that a child had placed a vehicle into gear while parked and the vehicle crashed into the front of the Wilson Creek Post Office.
