PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles Police Department and Clallam County Sheriff’s Office are asking the public for help after someone stole four firearms — including two department-issued guns — from the home of two Sheriff’s Office employees.
“Getting the firearms back into the hands of their rightful owners is our top priority right now,” said Deputy Chief Jason Viada of PAPD.
The theft was reported at about 10 p.m. Friday on the 3400 block of South Mount Angeles Road, where a deputy and corrections officer live together.
The stolen firearms include two Glock 22 .40 caliber pistols, a Ruger 1911 style .45 caliber pistol and an antique Walther PPK .380 caliber pistol.
The two Glocks are department-issued, said Sheriff Bill Benedict.
Viada declined to say how the home was broken into or where inside the guns were being stored.
Regardless, they likely were not being stored properly, said Benedict.
Benedict said the Sheriff’s Office requires department-issued weapons to be stored securely and locked so that they are not accessible.
“It appears there was a breach of county policy with regards to the employees, but I have my own internal investigation into that,” he said.
Benedict said he could not name the the employees because of the active investigation.
“It’s a sad state of affairs,” Benedict said. “I’d appreciate any help we can get from the public in finding these guns.”
Benedict said it has been about 10 years since a firearm had been stolen from the Sheriff’s Office. In that incident, he said someone had broken into a deputy’s car and stolen a shotgun that was locked in a holder.
Anyone with information regarding this case or the location of the firearms is encouraged to contact the Port Angeles Police Department at 360-452-4545.
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Reporter Jesse Major can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at jmajor@peninsuladailynews.com.
