Three men plead guilty to assault for August shooting, robbery in downtown Spokane

Dec. 29—Three men were sentenced to less than a year in prison after they pleaded guilty last week for their roles in an August armed robbery that left one man injured.

Chandler Alexander, 20, Giovanni Juarez, 38, and Roniah Friedlander, 21, pleaded guilty Dec. 23 to second-degree assault and conspiracy to commit first-degree theft.

The group of men were driving around on Aug. 21 looking for someone to rob when they spotted an acquaintance, Wesley Pace, in a parking lot, according to court documents.

They parked their car in the lot at 1424 W. Fourth Ave. and approached Pace, according to court documents. The men told Pace to give them all his money while pointing a gun at him.

Pace, thinking the gun was fake, reached for his own airsoft gun in his backpack, he told police. That's when one of the men shot him.

Police arrived a short time later to find Pace with a gunshot wound to his arm. The injuries were not life-threatening, according to police.

By that time, the group had piled back into their car and sped away, only to be spotted short time later by a patrol officer in north Spokane.

After a car chase, police arrested the five people in the vehicle.

Dylen Swan, 20, who remains in the Spokane County Jail awaiting trial, was the shooter, Alexander told police. A 17-year-old girl also was arrested in connection to the incident.

Juarez, who has multiple prior convictions, also pleaded guilty to a third-degree theft charge out of Yakima County. He was sentenced to 15 months in prison.

Friedlander, who has no prior felony convictions, was sentenced to six months in jail. Alexander, who had one prior juvenile conviction, was sentenced to six months.