Issaquah police have recovered more than $48,000 worth of winter sports and snowmobile equipment that was stolen from a local business.
Police arrested a 55-year-old Ronald, Wash., man on Jan. 7, 2015, for first-degree possession of stolen property and first-degree trafficking in stolen property. The suspect owns a competing business, which was used to sell the stolen merchandise.
In early November, a trailer was stolen from inside a gated, locked area in the 200 block of Northeast Gilman Boulevard. The trailer, which was loaded for a winter sports show, contained more than $150,000 worth of merchandise.
Investigators believed the suspect could be the owner of a business in Ronald, Kittitas County.
A customer was sent to the business, where he bought a backpack for at least $500 less than the retail price. He used cash for the purchase, and the store did not offer him a receipt.
Using the backpack’s serial number, investigators determined it had been stolen from the Issaquah business.
Issaquah police, with the help of the Major Crimes Task Force (part of the Coalition of Small Police Agencies), Cle Elum Police Department and Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office, then searched the store and arrested the suspect.