SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. — A man was arrested for breaking into a Spokane Valley home on Monday evening, according to Spokane Valley Police Department.
Around 6 p.m. on February 3, SVPD received a call from a person who said someone had broken into his neighbor’s home near North Bowdish Road and East Springfield Avenue.
The caller told deputies he knew his neighbors weren’t home and had seen a man wearing a black beanie, black coat and tan pants force open his neighbor’s back door.
When deputies arrived, they found footprints on the bottom of the back door and damage to the doorframe. They could also hear someone inside the home.
With the help of the neighbor who called, SVPD contacted the residents of the home who gave permission to enter the house.
Deputies used a loudspeaker to communicate with the burglar, but he did not come outside.
A SWAT perimeter was established around the house and a drone flown inside to find the suspect.
Once inside, the drone found 31-year-old Austin J. Schwahn lying down in the living room.
He showed his hands to the drone, and eventually came outside around 7:20 p.m.
Schwahn was arrested and booked into Spokane County Jail for burglary and third-degree malicious mischief.
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