PORT ANGELES — A Port Hadlock man was arrested early Tuesday morning for investigation of burglary, theft and stealing a vehicle after the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office said he went on a crime spree that stretched from Agnew to the FedEx warehouse on Easy Street in the Deer Park area.
Sheriff’s detectives said James E. Kingsland, 46, stole an animal shelter truck and a delivery truck.
Kingsland was arrested and booked into Clallam County jail for investigation of two counts of second-degree burglary, two counts of theft of a motor vehicle and one count each of possession of a stolen vehicle, first-degree malicious mischief, second-degree theft/pickpocket and second-degree vehicle prowl.
He was being held on $10,000 bond until his court appearance.
A press release from the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office gave the following account of the events:
Sheriff’s deputies responded at 6:22 a.m. Monday to a reported burglary at Peninsula Friends of Animals’ cat shelter, located just east of milepost 257 on U.S. Highway 101 in Agnew. Video surveillance showed the suspect arriving in a green Chevrolet Astro van later found to be registered to Kingsland.
Video footage allegedly showed the suspect entering the cat shelter, rifling through cupboards, stealing syringes and leaving a T-shirt inside the building. Then Kingsland allegedly stole a 1989 maroon Chevrolet truck with a matching maroon canopy registered to Peninsula Friends of Animals and left the scene.
Shortly after 9 a.m., sheriff’s deputies responded to the theft of a FedEx delivery truck from the company’s warehouse, located in the first block of Easy Street, east of Port Angeles.
Employees told investigators that someone had “punched” the truck ignition, starting it without a key, then drove the truck around the property as well as up and down Easy Street before abandoning it on the FedEx property.
The truck was equipped with a dash cam, showing a suspect inside who later was identified as Kingsland. It also was equipped with a GPS tracking device that showed where he had driven the truck.
The video also showed Kingsland allegedly entering other vehicles on the FedEx property and stealing items that included a box of cameras.
The video footage of the suspect in the van matched Kingsland’s driver’s license photo, giving deputies probable cause that Kingsland had committed the crimes, the sheriff’s office said.
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Reporter Brian Gawley can be reached at brian.gawley@peninsuladailynews.com.
