Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
St. Ignatius hospital as seen from the former laundry house behind the building.
COLFAX - Two weeks, two break-ins, nine arrests.
Several Spokane County residents are facing charges after traveling to Colfax, where they allegedly broke into the "haunted" St. Ignatius Hospital.
Grady Alderman, 23, and Dallin Michael Earl, 23, both of Medical Lake, and Donna Kobelt, 26, and Amber Stull, 31, both of Cheney, were arrested Saturday morning, May 20, at the hospital.
Alderman, Kobelt and Stull each face second-degree burglary charges; beach is charged with second-degree burglary and second-degree theft.
Malachi Beach, 21, and Donavan Hoffman, 20, both of Spokane Valley, are facing second-degree burglary and second-degree theft charges in connection with the unrelated May 12 burglary.
Hoffman remained in the Whitman County Jail on $10,000 Tuesday; he was booked into the jail May 20 and faces an additional charge of making/possessing burglary tools.
Three juveniles from Spokane Valley, whom law enforcement officers have yet to identify, were also arrested in connection with the May 12 incident. At press time, they had yet to be formally charged.
According to a Whitman County Sheriff's Office report, at around 3 a.m. Saturday morning, May 20, St. Ignatius staff observed that someone had broken into the building after a tour had wrapped up.
"We saw that someone had broken into the building, and they had broken into one place to turn off the power to the cameras," owner Austin Storm said.
Caught in the act
Sheriff's Office deputies and and city police responded quickly and located four people still inside St. Ignatius.
Two of the suspects were only wearing lingerie, records show.
"I don't know exactly what was going on," Storm said. "It's not a building I would wanna be half-naked in."
This break-in comes a week after the previous burglary in which Hoffman, Beach and three juveniles are accused.
"A total of nine people have broken in and have now been identified and will be facing charges ranging from second-degree burglary to theft," Whitman County Sheriff Brett Myers said. "It's very well-marked 'No Trespassing.'"
The purported "haunted hospital" is a favorite location for paranormal aficionados to visit. And Austin offers tours to those looking for an ethereal experience.
The historic building, which opened in 1893, has been subjected to multiple break-ins in recent years.
But this is an unusual time for the break-ins, Austin said, noting St. Ignatius often sees break-ins around October, near Halloween.
Myers believes the recent break-ins were triggered after the television show, "Ghost Hunters," aired a recent episode on St. Ignatius.
"I would not be surprised if that's what has triggered the idea," Myers said, noting another damaging break-in occurred last year.
But some reports suggest a possible motive of the most recent assault on St. Ignatius is that the Cheney and Medical Lake suspects wanted a free tour.
"Paying for the tour is much cheaper than breaking into a building," Storm said. "We have low rate prices, and we want people to see the building."
Burglaries are nothing new here.
Sheriff Myers said 11 people have already been caught and convicted of crimes related to breaking into the hospital since just last year.
Austin just wants the burglaries to stop.
"It takes a certain emotional toll, both when people break in and the follow-up with the people in court because they broke into the building," he said. "We are so thankful that the people were caught."
Storm notes that he has yet to hear back from the victim advocate group and the prosecuting attorney about the return of equipment stolen last weekend.
More than $3,000 of merchandise and ghost-hunting equipment was allegedly stolen by Hoffman and Beach, records show.
"I don't know what we get back until that process has gone a little bit further," Storm said, noting the equipment stolen May 12 has been replaced, and St. Ignatius is optimistic for this summer's season of ghost hunting and tours.
Repairs underway
While Storm is awaiting the return of some of the items stolen, he has already started repairing damages caused in the recent two burglaries.
"We are trying to preserve the dedicated laundry building behind St. Ignatius," Storm said, adding that he's upgrading surveillance systems to help curtail the property crimes.
"We have done quite a bit in the last few years to beef up our camera system, and it's gotten better over time," he said. "We will definitely continue that work this year.
"We don't want to make it easy for people to break in."
Olivia Harnack is a Journalist at the Whitman County Gazette. Olivia is enrolled at University of Idaho and is majoring in digital film studies. She serves in the United States Army National Guard and is proud to serve Whitman County.
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