SNOHOMISH — The Lake Stevens man behind a string of thefts from the Snohomish Home Depot earlier this year temporarily landed in jail on another matter last month, but as of Friday, May 13 is out again for time served.
He failed to appear to an April 13 motion hearing relating to his 2018 Lake Stevens burglary of his neighbor’s house where he pawned the goods he stole. He faced charges for trafficking stolen goods, and because he failed to appear, the judge issued a warrant. Lake Stevens Police arrested him April 19.
His failure to appear stripped him of his permission to participate in a county alternative-to-jail program which he had joined in 2019.
He pleaded guilty to possession of stolen goods April 28 to Judge Anna Alexander.
It’s a class C felony.
He was charged with five days of jail, which meant he was immediately released April 28 for already having served that period of time while jailed for the warrant.
In the Home Depot thefts, police seek charges of organized retail theft against him.
During January and February, the man stole upwards of $6,500 of goods from 15 different early morning visits.
In that case, a custody hold based on his probable cause arrest elapsed, meaning he had to be legally released. Formal criminal charges weren’t filed by county prosecutors at the time.
For the Lake Stevens burglary, he had agreed to being under a therapeutic alternatives to prosecution (TAP) pathway, an alternative to incarceration for felony crimes which where done while having difficulties with drug or alcohol dependency, or mental health issues. It’s a voluntary rehabilitation program that carries a probation period.
The Tribune is not naming the suspect of the Home Depot thefts because the prosecutor’s office has not filed charges into court specifically about these thefts.
