STANWOOD — Authorities believe they’ve apprehended the man responsible for at least two dozen car prowls in Stanwood in recent weeks.
The 31-year-old on Tuesday remained at the Snohomish County Jail on suspicion of theft, possessing methamphetamine and seven counts of possessing stolen property.
One evening in late August, Stanwood police Sgt. Jess Sanders went looking for a culprit in the vehicle break-ins, 10 of which had been reported in two days, court records show. In one incident Aug. 23, a black backpack that contained a revolver was stolen.
Sanders found the Stanwood man, who is known to local police, walking along 276th Street NW, wearing a headlamp on his neck and a black backpack.
The sergeant told the man he was a suspect in the car prowls.
The man reportedly replied: “I am done. I will stop tonight.”
At some point during the confrontation, the man rode away on a bicycle and threw the backpack on the ground. It was collected as potential evidence. Inside were credit cards, driver’s licenses and prescription bottles with labels in various names, and methamphetamine, according to court papers. The backpack also reportedly held jewelry, cellphones, pairs of sunglasses, gift cards, a bag of coins, and assorted mail, plus an iPod and tools.
The prescription medication included generic Adderall, anti-depressants and thyroid hormones.
On Sept. 3, a group of deputies arrested the man at a house where he is known to “flop,” according to their reports. The police found the man hiding behind a locked door in a shed.
The man reportedly said he had dropped the backpack because it was too heavy. He said it got it from a “honey hole” and saw it had “good stuff” inside. He said the items were inside the backpack when he found it and he thought he could sell them. He reportedly admitted to prowling cars, “too many to count.”
He told the deputies that he “only prowls cars that are unlocked and that he mostly steals loose change and other small items,” records show.
Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @rikkiking.
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