Trial for Tacoma man linked to Sequim business thefts set for May

A four-day trial is set for a Tacoma man facing charges for heavy machinery thefts in mid-February from two Sequim businesses.

Calvin Leroy Larson, 33, pleaded not guilty on March 25 at his motion hearing in Clallam County Superior Court with defense from court-appointed attorney Charlie Commeree.

He was charged with two counts of theft in the first degree and one count of burglary in the second degree, for allegedly breaking into locked storage and stealing four lawn mowers from The Home Depot, 1145 W. Washington St., on Feb. 13, and stealing an excavator from the Jamestown Healing Center, 526 S. Ninth Ave., the same day.

Larson faces up to 10 years in prison and/or a $20,000 fine for each felony charge.

The four lawn mowers were valued at about $15,000 and the excavator at about $29,000, Sequim Police report.

Judge Simon Barnhart agreed this past Friday to Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Michele Devlin’s preference for a four-day trial, she said, because of the number of agencies involved in investigating Larson’s alleged thefts.

A status hearing is set for 9 a.m. April 22, followed by the four-day trial set to begin May 16.

Charges for allegedly possessing a firearm upon Larson’s arrest on Feb. 16 were not mentioned Friday in court as Sequim Police officers reported he is prohibited from having one due to 11 previous felony convictions, including robbery, theft and trafficking in stolen property.

Court documents report Sequim Police officers responded to Home Depot and the tribe’s clinic on Feb. 14 after the businesses reported the thefts, and both sites’ employees shared video surveillance of a white Ford F-150 with a flatbed trailer driving by the businesses.

Following a tip, the excavator and mowers were recovered from a Diamond Point residence the same day by the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office, according to court documents.

Sequim Police detective Rick Larsen said a source linked Larson to dropping the excavator and mowers off at a residence in Diamond Point, court documents state.

While searching Pierce County police reports, Larsen learned Larson was under the supervision of the Pierce County Department of Corrections for previous arrests and that the truck and trailer on video allegedly “casing” Home Depot and hauling the excavator away was registered to Larson, according to court documents.

Larson remains in custody in Clallam County jail with a $50,000 bond set.