PORT ANGELES — Police have asked the Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office to charge a man now in federal custody with two Port Angeles burglaries and arson.
The Port Angeles Police Department referred evidence for an arson and two felony burglary charges against Leo Claude Blanton, 32, of Port Angeles to the prosecutor’s office Feb. 15.
Blanton is being held in a federal facility in Tacoma on federal firearms charges.
“The [local] cases are under review,” said Prosecuting Attorney Mark Nichols on Friday.
He did not know when a decision would be made on the charges recommended by police.
An additional misdemeanor theft case has been referred to the Port Angeles City Attorney’s Office.
The proposed Clallam County charges are related to burglaries and an arson that took place Dec. 24.
Evidence for the proposed charges stemmed from a federal arrest warrant served in January, said Brian Smith, deputy police chief.
On Jan. 21, the U.S. Marshals Service executed a probation arrest warrant for Blanton at his home on the 1200 block of I Street in Port Angeles.
The Marshals Service was assisted by the Port Angeles Police Department; the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office; the Sequim Police Department; Olympic Peninsula Narcotics Enforcement Team (OPNET) detectives; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents; and the U.S. Border Patrol.
Blanton was taken into custody without incident.
Burglaries
Sheriff’s deputies and Port Angeles police investigators received information that Blanton had been involved in several burglaries and thefts in Port Angeles in late December, Smith said.
They identified three houses that had been burglarized or victimized by theft, he said.
After obtaining a search warrant for Blanton’s residence, they searched the home and seized several stolen items including a compound bow and a barbecue, Smith said.
Smith said investigators believe Blanton removed a trolling motor from a boat parked in the driveway of a residence near Ninth and G streets in Port Angeles.
The removal of the motor from the fuel line and battery caused sparks, which ignited a fire that destroyed the boat and spread to a nearby house, according to police reports.
Total property loss and damage to the boat and house was estimated to be more than $30,000.
Investigators also believe Blanton entered the garage of a residence on the 3400 block of South Wabash Street in Port Angeles and stole a compound bow and two empty rifle cases.
The burglary was not initially reported by the residents, but they confirmed it after they were contacted by police.
The recovered barbecue is believed to have come from a residence in the 1000 block of East Second Street.
The barbecue theft was not reported by the resident but was confirmed when police contacted the owner.
Police also are investigating a burglary in which a wood stove was taken from a vacant house near 13th and B streets in Port Angeles.
Federal charges
Blanton is facing federal charges relating to being a convicted felon in possession of firearms.
Blanton was charged in December 2011 in U.S. District Court in Tacoma with one count of felon in possession of a firearm.
He has previous convictions of possession of methamphetamine, forgery, two counts of third-degree assault, second-degree possession of stolen property and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, charging papers said.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
