SPOKANE, Wash. – While two Gonzaga University students were sleeping, a man broke into the home they rent on East Augusta Avenue, barricaded himself in one of the bedrooms and lit the door on fire, before he was arrested by police early Monday morning.
“Just another day, another life,” Thomas Follet, one of the students, said.
Just off Hamilton and across the street from Safeway, Thomas Follet lives on Augusta Avenue with Patrick Carney and another roommate. Between Follet and Carney, they’ve spent a few semesters in this neighborhood, and they have a few more to go, headed into their senior year at Gonzaga.
Living in this part of town, out of Gonzaga security jurisdiction, the students said Crime Check is on speed dial.
“You really just learn to live with them, especially once the bus drops people off you get an influx,” Follet said. “You never really feel safe in that Safeway.”
It’s an area in Spokane that has seen its fair share of suspicious activity, according to the students. And for good reason, they’ve felt uneasy; summer break kicked off on a scary note early Monday morning.
“It was probably the last thing we’d expected at all, like I said, half the time I thought it was a roommate, so it was a really chilling feeling to get a text that it wasn’t him and I just immediately knew something was wrong,” Carney said.
Something was really wrong; a man had broken into their home. Fight or flight mode turned on and the Gonzaga students chose the safest option, flight. Carney was the first to get out of the home and called the police. Spokane Police Department (SPD) officers got the call at 5:49 a.m. and were on scene by 5:52 a.m. Follet was able to get out of the home safely, as well, as the suspect made his way through the off-campus rental.
“I didn’t even bother to look, just went out the door as fast as I could,” Follet said.
According to SPD, Marlon Laffoon was the man inside the house. Once the students were safe, officers moved in for the arrest, only to find Laffoon had barricaded himself in one of the downstairs bedrooms; inside, the suspect lit the door on fire. Officers could see flames from below.
SPD said the K9 unit was brought in and was able to help with Laffoon’s arrest. The man is now in custody in the Spokane County Jail and is facing six felonies: Arson in the First Degree, Residential Burglary, Theft in the Third Degree, Resisting Arrest, Obstruction of a Law Enforcement Officer, and Assault in the Third Degree.
While their house is a mess, the college students are ok; but they’re still shaken up, and they said they want to see change in their community.
“I think as students and as a neighborhood we would like to see better protection for the community in the area, whether it’s the university or local police, but just something to help with the neighborhood,” Carney said. “It’s a constant problem every day for families, students and pretty much everyone.”
NonStop Local KHQ did reach out to Gonzaga University for comment, but a university spokesperson said they have nothing further to add.
