A dating couple was arrested Tuesday night for their joint participation in stealing a car, taking it apart, and making a bomb threat to evade capture.  Alkala Michener and Charles Pearson were both booked on felony charges related to the theft of a 1997 Jeep Cherokee in Spokane Valley the previous night.

            Detective Snider and the Patrol Anti-Crime Team responded to an E. Bridgeport address in Spokane Valley, where the stolen Jeep was parked in a garage.  Both suspects were taking the wheels off the stolen Jeep and putting them on a different Jeep, belonging to Michener.

            As officers approached the house, Michener and Pearson fled into a house and hid.  When officers surrounded the house, the suspects each called in a false bomb threat to try and lure officers away.  But, officers quickly recognized the probability of the call being false. 

            Officer Hamilton and his K9, Leonidas, assisted in searching the house and locating both suspects hiding together in the basement. The couple was booked into jail and a grateful citizen was able to take her Jeep home, just 13 hours after reporting it stolen.