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Thursday, 01 June 2006 |
Chewelah resident questions shooting incident that resulted in a man’s death
BY SOPHIA ALDOUS
S-E Staff Reporter
Though neither Mike or De¬bra Wiyrick saw Donald L. Hobrecht’s body after he was shot and killed by local law enforcement at the couple’s home outside of Chewelah May 19, the event has caused an unsettling atmosphere for both husband and wife.
“It’s hard for me to walk around the house at night,” admitted Debra Wiyrick, who works at Polanski’s Pizza in Chewelah. “I know it sounds silly, but I’ll walk into the kitchen and I’m afraid that a body is going to be lying there or something.”
The Wiyrick’s home is lo¬cated in the 2500 block of Flowery Trail Road, where Ho¬brecht, 47, was working as a flagger during road construc¬tion. Wiyrick said she spoke to Hobrecht on Thursday when she was coming home from work on Eagle-Lambert Road.
“He seemed like a real nice person, but maybe he had a loose screw,” Wiyrick said. “I think the whole thing is aw¬ful.”
On May 19 around 3 a.m., Mike Wiyrick, who runs a septic tank business, was just getting ready to go to bed when Hobrecht began knock¬ing frantically on the door, claiming there were three men trying to break into his trailer and kill him. Even though Hobrecht was armed with a handgun, Wiyrick said he was never threatening or forceful.
“He just seemed really scared,” Wiyrick recalled. “He didn’t break into the house, he asked if he could come in. He wanted us to call the po¬lice. He thanked us for calling them.”
Unanswered questions still surround the incident, par¬ticularly whether or not Ho¬brecht fired at the Stevens County Deputy and Chewelah police officer before he was killed.
According to Stevens County Sheriff Craig Thayer, after law enforcement entered the home, Hobrecht didn’t re¬spond to police commands, and multiple shots were fired.
Hobrecht died inside the Wiyrick home at about 3:30 a.m.
Wiyrick says he feels un¬easy about the chain of events.
‘I don’t know what I was expecting’
“He wasn’t threatening. He wasn’t sloppy with his gun,” Wiyrick said. “He never pointed it at us, and he was never angry towards us.”
Wiyrick said that before he let Hobrecht in, the man was constantly looking over his shoulder. Mrs. Wiyrick had al¬ready gone to bed. The cou¬ple’s nine-year-old son was in Spokane visiting Wiyrick’s father, retired Spokane County Undersheriff Dave Wi¬yrick.
After Wiyrick unlocked the door and let Hobrecht in, Wi¬yrick said he took out his hunting rifle and ammunition in case of a confrontation with the men who were supposedly chasing Hobrecht. Wiyrick gave the phone to his wife and told her to go next door to his mother and stepfather’s home and call 911.
“After she left we went around the house and turned all the lights out,” said Wi¬yrick. “I don’t know what I was expecting. A big shootout I guess.”
Wiyrick said he lined up ri¬fle shells along the wall lead¬ing to his bedroom. Hobrecht hid in the closet across the hallway from the couple’s bed¬room. Wiyrick estimated that it took about 15 to 20 minutes for police to respond to the 911 call. The first to arrive was a sheriff’s patrol car.
“When the police came, I told him (Hobrecht) that they were here and that I was going to go talk to them,” explained Wiyrick. “He looked out from the closet and saw them, but he didn’t come out. I told him that everything was going to be okay.”
Wiyrick put his rifle down and walked outside with his hands in the air. He walked right up to the deputy and told him what happened, where Hobrecht was and that he had a gun. Wiyrick recalled the deputy telling him to go next door.
Soon after, the Chewelah police officer arrived, and Wi¬yrick said he saw the two men enter the house. About three minutes later, Wiyrick said he heard four gunshots.
“What bothers me is why didn’t they try to talk him out of the house,” wondered Wiyrick. “I don’t know what their rea¬soning was, but it really shocked me.”
According to a Stevens County Sheriff Office evidence inventory, six shell casings, a Levi jacket and a small section of bloodstained carpet were among other items taken as evidence. Wiyrick said police left two other larger patches of blood-soaked carpet that he and his stepfather had to cut out themselves.
The Stevens County Sher¬iff’s deputy and Chewelah po¬lice officer involved in the shooting have been placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation by the Stevens County Sheriff’s Office and the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office. Toxi¬cology results on Hobrecht from Stevens County Coroner Patty Hancock are also immi¬nent.
“This just makes me won¬der,” said Wiyrick. “I still have some questions about this and I don’t know if they will ever be answered. It just seems strange.”
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 07 June 2006 )
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