WEST VANCOUVER, British Columbia — A legless man stole about $1,625 worth of pants and jackets from a mall store, then fled in his wheelchair to a car and escaped, police said.
Sgt. Bob Fontaine said Thursday the man, accompanied by another man, was seen entering The Gap in Park Royal Mall and taking 10 pairs of pants worth $500 and six leather jackets worth $1,125.
The man then wheeled off to a mid-sized gray vehicle that had a license plate that had been reported stolen from a different vehicle in Vancouver, Fontaine said.
Witnesses alerted the store’s manager to the theft, but the two were gone before they could be arrested, he said.
Several witnesses got a good look at the man and are confident he had no legs and was not faking it, Fontaine said.
Crime is a political matter: A second British Columbia cabinet minister has become a victim of theft, this time in a car prowl. Forests Minister Mike de Jong said he lost credit cards, his passports and a briefcase holding confidential documents in a smash-and-dash hit Saturday at Willowbrook Mall in this Vancouver suburb. Gone were two coats, a purse and de Jong’s brown attache case, which contained his day planner, address book, a small amount of cash and an 18-karat gold heirloom watch. Among the documents in the briefcase were some dealing with the Canada’s softwood lumber dispute with the United States.
Wenatchee
Talk about holiday stress: While Jason Carey’s family searched hundreds of miles for him and prepared for the worst, he’d been staying with a friend, apparently to escape the pressures of the Christmas holiday. "He’s got a lot to answer for when we see him," said one brother, Wayne Carey. "Just wait. There may be a death in the family yet!" Wayne and brother Jon Carey logged more than 600 miles on a pickup truck, searching for their 26-year-old little brother, who was last seen on Sunday when he said he was going to look for a Christmas tree. No charges are likely to be filed. "There’s not really anything we can do. He’s an adult. He can come and go as he pleases," said Capt. Jerry Yonaka of the sheriff’s office. "But I’m sure the family will take care of this in their own way."
Seattle
Famed Zero pilot dies: Masajiro "Mike" Kawato, a Japanese World War II fighter ace who shot down his U.S. arch rival, Medal of Honor winner Gregory "Pappy" Boyington, and then became good friends with him, is dead at age 76. Kawato, a Zero pilot who was shot down five times, wounded 17 times and credited with shooting down 19 Allied planes in his career with the Imperial Japanese Navy, died Dec. 17 of intestinal cancer. A memorial was held Thursday at Nichiren Buddhist Church. His last residence was a cottage in Federal Way.
Tacoma
Police chief selected: David Brame, a 20-year veteran of the Tacoma Police Department, was named Friday as police chief. City Manager Ray Corpuz Jr. made the appointment, calling Brame "a trusted insider who’s committed to Tacoma." Brame replaces James Hairston, who retired after a 33-year police career, the last three as Tacoma’s chief.
Olympia
Standoff ends in suicide: A police standoff at a trailer in Olympia ended Friday afternoon when officers found a man dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside. It started around 10:20 a.m. when officers looking for a man and a teen-ager suspected in two robberies tracked them down at a trailer in southeast Olympia. A 24-year-old man, whose name was not released, pulled a gun, put it to his head and threatened to kill himself when confronted by officers, Olympia police spokesman Dick Machlan said. The man then barricaded himself inside the trailer with two teen-age boys — a 15-year-old sought in the recent robberies, and a 14-year-old not sought by police, Machlan said. A hostage negotiator eventually coaxed the boys out of the trailer. When officers went inside the trailer around 4 p.m., they found the man dead with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Oregon
Death sentence upheld: The Oregon Supreme Court upheld the death sentence Friday against a man convicted of killing two brothers with an 18-inch Japanese sword as they slept in a campsite in a Clackamas County. Karl Anthony Terry, 28, sought to have his aggravated murder convictions and death sentence overturned on various grounds, including that the victims’ mother should not have been allowed to testify during the penalty phase of his trial.
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