Olympia man arrested in overnight burglary at Tumwater Pick-n-Pull
With help from a K9, a Washington State Patrol aircraft, and Thurston County Sheriff’s Office, Tumwater Police tracked down and arrested an Olympia man suspected of breaking into a used auto parts store and vehicle salvage yard early Friday morning.
About 2:45 a.m. Friday, officers were called to Pick-n-Pull on the 8000 block of Old Highway 99 Southeast, said Laura Wohl, spokesperson for the Tumwater Police Department.
Using the business’ security system, Pick-n-Pull’s owners saw someone had broken in and was still on site, Wohl said, but the suspect fled when officers arrived.
A Washington State Patrol fixed-wing plane provided surveillance during the search, since the Pick-n-Pull compound is large and full of cars and car parts, Wohl said. That surveillance, combined with Tumwater’s K9, helped officers track down the suspect. Thurston County Sheriff’s Office also responded to the scene.
The K9 made contact with the man, according to Wohl, but he wasn’t injured and was medically cleared before he was taken into custody.
The 35-year-old Olympia man was arrested on suspicion of commercial burglary, obstructing an officer, and resisting an officer, Wohl said. He had a “large amount of cash” that police suspect did not come from the business, along with keys for one of the cars on the lot.
He was on Department of Corrections probation, Wohl said, but could not be booked into Thurston County jail on the DOC felony charges due to COVID-19 related restrictions and was instead booked into the Nisqually jail on the misdemeanor charges. The tribal jail expanded the types of arrests it’s accepting during the pandemic this week, according to Wohl.
This story was originally published May 1, 2020 at 8:32 AM.
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