SPOKANE, Wash. - Police arrested a second teenage suspect Friday in the fatal beating of an 88-year-old World War II veteran outside an Eagles Lodge in North Spokane.
The victim, Delbert Belton, was attacked and robbed in the lodge's parking lot last Wednesday night. One of the suspects, a 16-year-old boy, surrendered to authorities Thursday night, and he was being held on charges of robbery and first-degree murder. His identity has not been released because he is a juvenile.
The second suspect, also a 16-year-old boy, was arrested in a basement apartment in Spokane just after 3 a.m. Monday. His identity and photograph were released as police searched for him, but The Associated Press, which typically does not identify juveniles accused of crimes, is no longer using his name because he is in custody.
Several other people with him were arrested for investigation of rendering criminal assistance, Spokane police spokeswoman Monique Cotton said.
Investigators believe the boys targeted Belton randomly as he sat in his car and waited for a friend.
Officers found Belton with serious head injuries, and he died in the hospital Thursday.
Both teens have juvenile court records and past convictions for assault, Chief Frank Straub said last week.
