Three men arrested after armed burglary in Grand Mound

Two armed men allegedly broke into a Grand Mount home Wednesday night, causing two people to flee out a window, while a third man — supposedly the getaway driver— tried to help them escape capture.

At around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Thurston County Sheriff’s Officers were informed that a witness had seen two armed men trying to break into a neighbor’s home on the 6300 block of 198th Trail SW in Grand Mound, about two blocks south of Old Highway 99, a news release from TCSO reads.

The home’s residents were away, but two people house-sitting for the owners were inside when the burglars forced their way in, the release said. While the house sitters were escaping through a window, one of the burglars fired his gun, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Thurston County Sheriff’s Lt. Ray Brady told The Olympian it could not be determined if the shot was a warning or an accident but it was clear the bullet was not intended to hit those escaping, based on where it landed.

The house sitters were not injured during the burglary or while escaping, the news release says.

Detectives are still investigating the crime, according to Brady, but so far it appears nothing was stolen from the home during the brief time the burglars were inside.

According to the release, a witness told Sheriff’s deputies they had seen two men flee the home and get into a tan Infinity driven by a third person who was waiting for them. The three then drove south on Old Highway 99 toward Centralia, read the release.

A Washington State Patrol trooper who had heard the reports come in over the radio managed to spot the Infinity on Old Highway 99 near Fords Prairie where the road transitions into Centralia’s Harrison Avenue, Brady said.

The trooper followed the vehicle until he was able to pull it over for a traffic violation, after which he called in Centralia Police and Lewis County Sheriff’s Officers to assist with arrests, Brady said.

Three men were arrested and all charged on suspicion of first-degree assault and first-degree burglary, the release says. They were booked into the Thurston County Jail and were to appear in court Thursday afternoon.

This story was originally published August 20, 2020 at 9:41 AM.