SPOKANE, Wash. — Airway Heights police arrested a man early Tuesday morning following a shooting at an apartment complex in Spokane.
According to court documents, on Tuesday at around 1 a.m., police responded to a call reporting a shooting at Deer Creek Apartments. Airway Heights police stated that the call came from a woman who claimed a man had shot at her.
Upon arriving, officers found the woman, who described the suspect as a white male dressed in black, who had left the scene in a black Jetta. While en route to the victim’s location, police said they spotted a black Jetta heading eastbound on US Highway 2 near Spotted Road. Matching the woman’s description of the suspect’s car, they stopped the vehicle and detained the driver, who was later identified as 22-year-old Miguel Arreola.
According to court documents, Arreola agreed to speak with the officers. Initially, he acted confused but eventually claimed that the woman had shot at him. However, the woman provided a different account. She told deputies that she had met Arreola via an app and agreed to meet him. She reported that Arreola became upset after she rejected his advances,” Miguel told her he would ‘f***ing kill her,’” she told deputies. He then threatened her with a gun, and held it to her head according to court docs.
Police said they noted inconsistencies in Arreola’s story, especially after they discovered a spent 9mm shell casing on the driver’s seat of his car. His responses varied significantly, particularly when he learned about the presence of surveillance cameras, and he appeared increasingly nervous during questioning.
The victim stated in the court documents that she escaped the car when Arreola fired the shot. The position of the shell casing indicated it had been ejected inside the car according to police.
Police booked Arreola on multiple charges, including first-degree assault, harassment (threats to kill), second-degree possession of a firearm, and unlawful possession of a firearm. A search of the area did not locate the firearm used in the incident. Arreola is also a convicted felon, with previous charges including attempt to elude, first-degree animal cruelty, unlawful imprisonment, and third-degree assault.
