Jesse Catlow, 29, and his companion Grace Palomar, 34, were each arrested on suspicion of second-degree possession of stolen property and second-degree trafficking in stolen property. Catlow was additionally booked on suspicion of unlawful possession of a firearm. Both were in custody at the Thurston County Jail Tuesday. Catlow's bail was set at $5,000, Palomar's at $1,500.
According to court papers:
The owner of the mountain bike had contacted police after it was stolen from the Hood River, Oregon area on Thursday. The owner told an Olympia police officer that he found the bike for sale on Craigslist out of the Tacoma area on Friday. The owner said he communicated with the seller and learned that he knew the bike was the one that had been stolen, based on the components described by the seller.
The Olympia police officer and the bike owner devised a plan to have the officer meet with the seller on Sunday outside a gas station at Plum Street and Union Avenue in Olympia.
When Olympia police met the sellers of the bike, who were in a white Impala, on Sunday afternoon, one officer drew his firearm, detained both suspects and placed them in handcuffs. The stolen bike was in plain view in the back of the Impala. The bike owner's name also was engraved on the seat post, confirming the bike as the one that had been stolen.
Olympia police also saw the butt of a handgun sticking out from under the center portion of the Impala's front seat. Catlow, who had previously been convicted of second-degree assault in Pierce County earlier this year, is not allowed to be in possession of firearm. Olympia police obtained a search warrant for the Impala, and both suspects were placed under arrest.
Jeremy Pawloski: 360-754-5445 jpawloski@theolympian.com
