Police arrest man for reportedly shooting at paper carrier in Spokane Valley

Kyle Simchuk by Kyle Simchuk

Police arrested a man on Wednesday for allegedly shooting at a newspaper delivery driver during her morning paper run in Spokane Valley.

Deputies said the shooting took place around 4:30 a.m. near the corner of Augusta and Glenn.

“Woke up and went right back to bed,” said Stephan Schiefelbein, who lives in the area.

Schiefelbein said he fell asleep on the couch watching CSI and woke up hours later to learn his house was part of a real-life crime scene.

“I noticed I had drywall on my television and I thought ‘that’s odd,'” said Schiefelbein. “So then I investigated a wee bit more and saw that I had bullet holes through my house.”

A driver delivering newspapers in the area told deputies a man, later identified as 36-year-old Nicholas Fautch, jumped out in the road. She said she swerved to avoid him and apologized, circling around in the cul-de-sac.

Deputies said that’s when Fautch went out in the middle of the street and pointed a gun at her.

The woman was able to duck and speed away.

The bullet missed her car and went into Schiefelbein’s home, passing through the living room wall and into the kitchen.

“There’s always something going on down there but you never know that you’re going to wake up to a bullet hole in your house,” said Schiefelbein. “No one got hurt in the situation, I mean, but still very not cool.”

Deputies arrested Fautch when Major Crimes detectives entered his home with a search warrant later in the day.

He’s charged with 1st degree assault and wreckless endangerment.

Deputies say any witnesses should call crime check at 456-2233.

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