By: Martín Bilbao
Source: The Olympian (Olympia, Wash.) (TNS)
A Thurston County deputy climbed a tree to locate a stolen $130,000 excavator in the Boston Harbor area on Monday.
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Deputies recovered the excavator and arrested a 29-year-old Olympia man on suspicion of first-degree theft and malicious mischief.
Sheriff Derek Sanders posted on Facebook about the investigation into the stolen excavator on Wednesday.
Court records indicate a worker for a Washington contracting company reported it stolen after finding it missing from their job site near Burfoot Park. The excavator had a GPS tracker that led to a property on the 6900 block of Zangle Road Northeast. Deputies arrived at the scene and one of the deputies asked a neighbor if she could walk onto their property to get a better view.
Sanders said the deputy climbed a tree and spotted the excavator under a tarp in the backyard of the property.
Court records state the deputies then contacted the owner of the property. The owner identified the 29-year-old Olympia man as the person who drove the excavator onto their property.
The owner reportedly said the man told them he borrowed it from a friend.
With the owner’s permission, deputies examined the excavator under the tarp. They found the logos had been sanded down and the tracking device had been ripped out from inside. The damage to the excavator was estimated at about $3,000, according to court records.
Sanders said deputies located the man suspected of stealing the excavator while he was driving a short time later.
“Great teamwork between (law enforcement) and our community to solve this one!” Sanders said in his post.
On Monday, the man appeared in Thurston County Superior Court for his preliminary appearance. Judge Allyson Zipp found probable cause for the alleged crimes and ordered him to be released with conditions.
Those conditions include that he does not violate the law again or leave Washington state. The judge also barred him from contacting the contractor or witnesses. No bail was set.
A pretrial screening form indicates the man has no previous criminal convictions and he is not accused of any other crimes in currently open cases.
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