An apple-throwing stunt in Spokane Valley left a woman’s recently purchased car dented and led police to detain two teenagers, according to The Spokesman-Review.
Just minutes later and not far away, a Spokane Valley police sergeant driving an unmarked patrol car heard his own loud thud against the passenger side of his vehicle, according to The Spokesman-Review. He turned to see two teenagers standing in the front yard of a nearby residence, a property with multiple apple trees growing along its west side.
As the sergeant pulled up with his emergency lights on, the two teens bolted toward the house, the newspaper reported. He managed to detain both suspects, ages 15 and 16, before they could get inside. At least a dozen apples were later found scattered across the roadway, and the sergeant discovered fruit pieces lodged near his own passenger-side door handle, though his patrol car came away undamaged.
Teens Admit They Wanted a Thrill
The teens reportedly told the sergeant they had been throwing apples at passing cars for an adrenaline rush. One apologized, according to the same account.
Fun or not, the stunt landed both teenagers in custody. They were booked into the Spokane County Juvenile Detention Center on suspicion of malicious mischief and reckless endangerment, per the newspaper's report.
Diversion may be an option
A 2025 report from the Washington State Minority and Justice Commission says Spokane probation counselors use Community Partnered Diversion, with referrals from the county prosecutor’s office to the juvenile court’s Diversion Unit. The Washington State Center for Court Research reports that diverted youth have lower recidivism and better outcomes on several other measures than youth who go through traditional court processes. These general findings do not establish whether diversion will be available to the teens in this case.
What Happens Next
The incident remains limited to what police have described so far, and no additional details about the teens' identities, the cost of repairing the woman's car, or who owns the property with the apple trees have been made public. For the Spokane Valley driver whose new car bears the dent, the lesson is a sour one: sometimes the backyard harvest ends up exactly where it shouldn't.
