Spokane pair staged robbery, police say

COEUR d’ALENE — Two Washington residents are facing felony charges after they allegedly staged a robbery Oct. 2 at Sunset Bowling Center in Coeur d'Alene.

Brett C. Sears, 38, of Spokane, is charged with burglary, grand theft, eluding and criminal conspiracy. Prosecutors also filed a habitual offender enhancement.

Lindsey A. Little, 36, of Spokane Valley, is charged with criminal conspiracy, grand theft, compounding a felony and possession of a controlled substance, all felonies.

She is also charged with providing false information to law enforcement and making a false 911 call, both misdemeanors.

The charges stem from the evening of Oct. 2, when Little, who worked at Sunset Bowling Center in Coeur d’Alene, called 911 to report a robbery.

Little told police that an unknown man, later identified as Sears, had attacked her while she was locking up for the night, tied her hands with her own shoelaces and stole around $1,700 in cash before fleeing the bowling alley.

Security footage showed Sears pushing Little to the ground and taking money from a cash register.

Idaho State Police located Sears as he was driving away from the scene and attempted to pull him over.

Sears led police on a chase, according to court documents, which ended when he crashed in a field and his vehicle rolled multiple times. He was transported to Kootenai Health with injuries reported to be severe.

When interviewed by police, Sears allegedly admitted to knowing Little through a mutual friend. He said the pair had made a plan to stage a robbery and split the stolen cash.

Law enforcement officers obtained text messages sent the day of the robbery. Via text, Little reportedly advised Sears where to park in order to avoid surveillance cameras and told him he would need to tie her hands.

Call logs showed that the pair spoke on the phone about an hour before the event. The call lasted 17 minutes.

Little allegedly said Sears approached her with the idea to rob the bowling alley and pressured her into going along with the scheme, which she said was not planned in great detail. Sears, meanwhile, told police the robbery was Little’s idea.

Police arrested Little on Oct. 6 and Sears the following day, after his discharge from the hospital.

The pair remain in jail on $35,000 bail each.

Preliminary hearings in the cases are scheduled for later this month.

In Idaho, burglary is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, while grand theft carries a maximum penalty of 20 years.