SPOKANE, Wash. — On Thursday morning, Liberty Lake Police released a statement about the arrest of 59-year-old Larry Munyon for allegedly asking a 13-year-old girl to get into his car. By Thursday afternoon, Munyon was released on his own recognizance, with an arraignment scheduled for Nov. 29.
According to court documents, the 13-year-old girl says she was walking from her Liberty Lake home to the local Safeway when she noticed a white sedan sitting at the intersection and not moving. After crossing the street to give herself distance, the car pulled up next to her, with the male, later identified as Munyon, asking her if she wanted a ride. After declining the offer and walking away, the girl said the car pulled up again, asking “are you sure you don’t need a ride?” The girl estimated Munyon asked her some variation of “get into the car,” or “it’s not safe out here, you should get in my car,” about 30 times.
Eventually, the car stopped outside the intersection of N. Liberty Lake Road and East Sprague Avenue, with the girl feeling so uncomfortable she decided to stop walking and call her father. The dad says he came as soon as he heard, arriving and confronting Munyon.
He parked nose-to-nose with Munyon’s car, blocking the crosswalk. When informing Munyon of his daughter’s age, the father says Munyon didn’t seem to care, and it wasn’t until he asked Munyon his criminal history and informed him he was calling the police that the car took off.
Before Munyon left, the father got a picture of the car which clearly identified the car’s plates. Liberty Lake Police tracked the plate to Munyon’s address, which happened to be in the same neighborhood as the victim’s.
In a Facebook group, the girl’s father posted a warning to others about the incident, when someone identified the suspect as Munyon. According to the court docs, the girl’s father later received a message with a picture of Munyon and his wife, recognizing the latter as the 13-year-old’s former elementary school teacher.
The girl’s father told police of this discovery after they had already identified Munyon as a suspect, but before they disclosed that information to the family.
Police tried to contact Munyon multiple times, before Munyon reached out to them, saying he retained a lawyer and was advised not to speak. When asked about the Facebook post, Munyon said he was aware of it, but didn’t want to provide any further statement.
After trying to arrest Munyon at his home, the police contacted him, letting him know he needed to turn himself in, which he later did.
At Thursday’s first appearance, Munyon’s lawyer argued there wasn’t enough evidence for probable cause, saying there was no evidence Munyon was doing anything other than trying to help the girl.
The court disagreed, specifically citing that Munyon didn’t know the girl, and released Munyon without bail under the condition he doesn’t try to contact anyone in the girl’s family.
Munyon’s luring charge is a Class C Felony, which in Washington can carry up to five years in prison and/or up to a $10,000 fine.
