On the evening 06/07/25 a burglary occurred at a business in Hoquiam near the intersection of 27th and Bay Ave. Several thousands of dollars worth the tools were taken and an estimated fifteen to twenty thousand dollars in damage was suffered to the business.

On 07/01/25 the Grays Harbor Drug Task Force was able to establish leads on the case with the assistance of the business owner. A suspect was identified and unbeknownst to him, he agreed to meet the undercover Drug Task Force detectives in the Tumwater area to sell them some of the stolen tools. Upon the suspects arrival with several of the stolen tools in his vehicle, the detectives and deputies from the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office surrounded him and safely took him into custody. The suspect, a 39-year-old Puyallup resident, was booked into the Grays Harbor County Jail for Burglary 2nd degree and Trafficking in stolen property 1st degree. He is being held on $20,000 bail.

The detectives then followed up on leads they were able to establish during the investigation that took them to a residence in Thurston County and another in Pierce County. Detectives served several search warrants at these locations to include at the suspect’s residence. With the assistance of the Pierce County Sheriff's Office and the Thurston County Sheriff's Office, detectives were able to recover additional stolen property owned by the Hoquiam business owner. Most of the property that was stolen during the initial burglary was recovered during the service of these Search Warrants.

The Grays Harbor Drug Task Force would like to thank the Thurston County Sheriff's Office and the Pierce County Sheriff's Office for their assistance in this investigation. These partnerships are essential in not only combatting drug crimes into our community but also property crimes and crimes against persons.