Lynnwood lawyer charged in theft of $800 laptop
EVERETT — A Lynnwood lawyer who reportedly said he got a “high” from stealing was charged Thursday with felony second-degree theft.
Paul D. Ryals was arrested Nov. 30 outside a Wal-Mart store in Everett after he allegedly tried to walk out of the store without paying for a laptop computer valued at nearly $800, deputy prosecutor Chris Dickinson said.
According to Snohomish County Superior Court charging papers, store security officials focused on Ryals because they recognized him from previous suspicious activity at the store.
They watched him put the laptop in a bag and leave the store without stopping to pay for it, Dickinson said.
Ryals told police he had been stealing from stores for some time and “that he got a high from doing so,” Dickinson said.
When they searched Ryals, police found the drug methamphetamine in one of his pockets, Dickinson said. He told police that he spent between $250 and $500 a week on the drug, court papers said.
Snohomish: Fire leaves home damaged
A 3,200-square-foot home was seriously damaged in a fire Thursday morning, said Ron Simmons, deputy fire chief for Snohomish County Fire District 4.
The owner of the house, on Broadway Avenue in the Clearview area south of Snohomish, was remodeling it, Simmons said. No one was living in the house during the remodel, but the work was nearly finished.
“They were getting ready to paint, so basically all their work will have to start over,” Simmons said.
Fire crews were sent to the house just before 7:30 a.m. The blaze was under control by about 8 a.m., Simmons said. The fire was caused by some electrical equipment stored near remodeling supplies, and is not considered suspicious, he said.
The fire caused about $140,000 in damage to the house, Simmons said.
From Herald staff reports
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