TACOMA — The return of a 3,000-pound copper bell that was stolen from a Vietnamese Buddhist temple three years ago has resulted in a major stolen goods arrest, Pierce County sheriff’s deputies say.
In the case of Robert L. Hunter Jr., 40, of the Graham area, “there’s nothing that’s going to surprise us if we find it,” sheriff’s Detective Ed Troyer said Thursday.
Investigators have recovered nine guns, some of them stolen, as well as six stolen cars, two stolen tow trucks, a stolen tractor, two stolen flatbed trucks, new car engines in wooden crates, some eagle talons, an eagle’s head and four cases of pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient in making methamphetamine.
Hunter was arrested Wednesday by a special weapons and tactics team and pleaded innocent Thursday to possession of stolen property and nine counts of unlawful firearms possession. He remained in jail Friday with bail set at $30,000.
Troyer said the probe that led to the arrest of Hunter began with the return of a 5-foot copper bell to a Vietnamese Buddhist temple in November 2006.
Slightly damaged but generally in good condition, the bell was returned a year and 10 months later by a man who had bought it at an auction.
The man led police to the suspect.
Spokane: Bones may be of ancient Indian
Human bones have been discovered near an early Indian gathering place in north Spokane.
Police Sgt. Joseph Peterson says youngsters sledding on a hillside found a jawbone about two weeks ago. More recently a piece of a skull was found in the same area near Drumheller Springs Historic Park.
An Eastern Washington University anthropology professor, Sarah Keller, has examined the bones and believes they are old, but how old is unclear. She would not discuss the bones Thursday because she had not written her report to the Spokane County medical examiner’s office.
If the bones are from an American Indian, officials say, an effort will be made to return them to the appropriate tribe, although ethnicity can be hard to determine.
North Bend: Escaped sex offender arrested
A 16-year-old sex offender who escaped from the Echo Glen juvenile detention center near North Bend is back in custody.
Authorities say he was on the loose about five hours before he was found Thursday night, cold and wet, in a parked car with a stranger on Highway 18.
The teen is held at the Department of Social and Health Services facility for sex crimes against children.
Superintendent Don Mead says he was supposed to be returning to his cottage when he ran into the woods.
Bellingham: Boats destroyed in fire
Two pleasure boats were destroyed and a third damaged in a fire at the Squalicum Harbor Marina.
Fire Chief Bill Boyd says no one was injured in the early Friday fire but damage is estimated at $175,000.
The department responded with its 36-foot fireboat, “FireBelle” and firefighters who worked from the dock to mop up the damage and contain spilled fuel.
Yakima: Man charged in ex-girlfriend’s rape
A man has been charged with abducting his former girlfriend and raping and beating her for 12 days in Yakima last month.
Thirty-one-year-old Jason M. Burke, also known as Gilberto Martinez, was arraigned Thursday on charges of first-degree kidnapping, first-degree rape, domestic violence assault and violating a no-contact order. He remained in jail Friday with bail set at $300,000.
He’s accused of holding her captive at his mother’s house, raping her, hitting her with a gun, choking her and injecting her with methamphetamine. Police wrote that she managed to escape on Feb. 27.
Ashford: Old-growth saved near Rainier
A conservation group has acquired 142 acres of old-growth forest near the entrance to Mount Rainier National Park, ending fears the land could be logged.
The Nisqually Land Trust says it purchased the historic Allen Estate in Ashford using a $780,000 federal land grant it obtained through the state Department of Natural Resources. DNR will hold a conservation easement on the property, preventing future development.
In 2005, the estate’s previous owners said they planned to log the property, which includes towering Douglas firs that line the highway leading into the national park’s main entrance.
The estate was the home of Grenville Allen, the national park’s first superintendent.
B.C.: Airport worker ruins ring surprise
A man in Prince George, B.C., thought he had the perfect way to propose to his high school sweetheart.
Instead of popping the question on a moonlit Caribbean beach this week, though, Aaron Tkachuk, 24, wound up popping the question to Jennifer Rubadeau, also 24, at an airport security screening station.
A screener at the Prince George airport, Adam Buhler, insisted on having a closer look at the contents of a small box in the toe of a sock. Inside the box was a white gold, diamond and ruby ring.
Tkachuk decided to propose on the spot, and other travelers and security personnel cheered as Rubadeau said yes.
Associated Press
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