SEQUIM — A four-day trial is set May 16 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 first-degree theft and one count of second-degree burglary 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.
Larson remained in custody in Clallam County jail on Thursday with $50,000 bond.
The four lawn mowers were valued at about $15,000 and the excavator at about $29,000, according to the Sequim Police report.
Judge Simon Barnhart agreed 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 beginning May 16.
Sequim police officers reported Larson has 11 previous felony convictions, including robbery, theft and trafficking in stolen property.
Court documents say Sequim police officers investigated after Home Depot and the tribe’s clinic reported the thefts on Feb. 14. 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 Detective Rick Larsen said a source linked Larson to dropping the excavator and mowers off at a residence in Diamond Point, court documents stated.
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.
________
Matthew Nash is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. Reach him at mnash@sequimgazette.com.
