PORT ORCHARD — Authorities are searching for a man with Clallam County ties after the burglary of a Bremerton-area gun store.
Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office investigators believe Patrick W. Nelson Jr., 40, drove a vehicle involved in the April 9 burglary of 14 firearms from Boerner’s Fire Arms on state Highway 3.
An arrest warrant was issued Tuesday with nationwide extradition, the Port Orchard Independent reported.
Bail was set at $100,000.
The Clallam County Sheriff’s Office, Forks police and LaPush police joined eight Kitsap County detectives in a Tuesday evening/Wednesday morning sweep of several residences between Sequim and south of Forks that Nelson is known to frequent.
Nelson from Forks
Nelson, whose last known address is in Seattle, is originally from Forks and still has family and friends in the area, Clallam County Sheriff’s Sgt. John Keegan said.
“I believe he has a violent history, and the crime that we’re looking at significant,” said Keegan, who participated in the search.
“We’re not going to stop looking for him until he is contacted by law enforcement.”
Nelson is considered dangerous. He is described as a 5-foot-9, 210-pound white male with brown hair and blue eyes.
Anyone with information about Nelson’s whereabouts is asked to phone 9-1-1.
The Port Orchard newspaper said Nelson is a convicted felon who is under the supervision of the state Department of Corrections.
He was last incarcerated for violating the conditions of his release from prison.
The Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office said Nelson has eight felonies, including multiple narcotics charges, eluding a pursuing police vehicle, assault and motor vehicle theft.
Kitsap County authorities said Matthew H. Wright, 24, broke into the gun store by sawing through the floor in the early morning hours of April 9 and phoned Nelson from the inside, the Independent reported.
The two left in a vehicle Nelson was driving, authorities said.
None of the firearms stolen has been recovered.
Wright, 24, of Bremerton was charged Monday in Kitsap County District Court with two counts of theft of firearms, second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm and second-degree burglary, the Independent reported.
Wright was being held Thursday in the Kitsap County jail on $250,000 bond.
