Pierce County Sheriff’s Department announcement.
Last month, a deputy responded to a burglary at a storage unit in the 16300 block of Meridian E. The victim told the deputy that he had been storing approximately $100,000 worth of collectibles in his storage unit, which was now empty.
Employees at the storage facility reviewed surveillance video and provided deputies with names of possible suspects. They also told deputies that the suspects loaded the stolen goods into a U-Haul truck.
The next day, a patrol deputy was driving through a parking lot in the 17400 block of Meridian when he noticed an unlicensed car parked next to a U-Haul truck. The deputy contacted the people in the car and ran their information. He discovered that one of them was listed as a suspect in the burglary at the storage unit. The back of the U-Haul was open and the deputy saw numerous boxes inside. He called the burglary victim, and the victim preliminarily identified the property as his. The deputy had the U-Haul impounded so that a search warrant could be obtained. The occupants of the car were free to leave as there was no probable cause for their arrest.
Investigators in our Proactive Property Crimes Unit took over the case and searched the U-Haul. It contained 44 of the approximately 87 boxes of collectibles that were stolen. The items were returned to the victim, who was grateful to have the collectibles back. Investigators also located a pistol and a rifle-style pellet gun in the truck.
After analyzing records and video, investigators confirmed the identities of the suspects. The case has been referred to the prosecutor’s office for a charging decision.
It would be nice if the police or anyone could have found the rest of our UHaul when I was taken from the LaQuinta in Tacoma on 19 April 2021. Lost a lot of memories from my wife’s 5 cancers and my wife’s Hope chest, large roll around tool boxes, saws, linens from around the world. A 26 foot UHaul returned half full. They got interrupted because they left their tools of the trade in the UHaul and in our now trashed Corvette. Sad. Hopefully someday they will show up in a storage facility someday. I have 4 police report from the Tacoma PD but sever heard from them.
If the police focused more on property crime instead of only violent crime, there would be less violent crime.
Most violent crime is not random.
Most violent crime is a reaction to someone who ripped off or otherwise wronged another.
By focusing on property crime, the police would have a much better and interactive relationship with the public.
A focus on property crime would also lead to the small group of folks who are involved in most crime of all sorts – the repeat and most-violent offenders.
I’ve never had anyone so angry at me as those I caught stealing from me.
To focus only on violent crime leads to such things as misguided gun legislation, while the criminals don’t even know another law was passed.
Crime is big business, and a meal ticket for many in our bloated government – many of which views property crime as nothing more than redistribution.
Look at the percentage of the budget that goes into funding police, prosecution, courts, jails, and the rest of what we call “justice”,
We could do better with half.