Clallam County Sheriff deputies continue to seek information regarding a daytime burglary in Sunland north of Sequim, where a loaded handgun was reportedly stolen from a residence.
Deputies responded to the burglary around 2:50 p.m. March 23 on the 100 block of Hilltop Drive shortly after a neighbor called in “an unknown male leaving his neighbor’s house carrying a bag,” according to Chief Criminal Deputy Brian King.
He ran once the neighbor spotted him, King reported, and drove away in a black, four-door, mid-2000s Chevrolet Tahoe.
A witness told deputies the alleged burglar is a white male with shoulder length “crimped” blond hair, and he was wearing all black with a red emblem on the right shoulder of his jacket and an unknown colored baseball hat, King reported.
On March 25, King said the Tahoe was recovered at the John Wayne Marina where it appeared to have been abandoned on Wednesday night (March 23).
The vehicle did not have any license plates and there are no computer records of the vehicle that deputies could find, he said.
Detectives and deputies have some theories about the vehicle, King said; it could be a stolen vehicle from a lot that’s been sitting for awhile, hence it’s quick abandonment.
A marina security guard saw the Sheriff’s Department’s Facebook post on March 23 about the burglary and recognized the description of the vehicle, he said.
“We’ve processed it and took fingerprints and DNA, but that could take awhile,” King said. “We’re still trying to find a suspect.”
The Sheriff’s Department has not found any connection between the potential suspect and the homeowner, he said.
It’s unclear whether or not the loaded Glock pistol was the only targeted item, King added.
“We’ve been considering if there are ties to other burglaries or if there’s a pattern of burglaries, but so far there have been no other burglaries or thefts in that area,” King said.
“We looked at some other calls about suspicious vehicles in the area but there’s no connection.”
That includes no connection to the arrest of 50-year-old Charles Allen Gilbert on Thursday, March 24, for allegedly burglarizing a cabin on the 6000 block of Palo Alto Road and taking about $5,500 in items, including a MacBook computer. Deputies later returned the stolen items.
Gilbert has his arraignment hearing on April 1 with pending charges of trafficking in stolen property, first degree theft and residential burglary
For those with information on the Sunland suspect and/or his burglary, call sheriff’s dispatch at 9-1-1 or the non-emergency line 360-417-2459 (x1), or leave an anonymous tip at clallam.net/cnmaster-c/nwformeml.php.
