PORT ANGELES — A 49-year-old man is in Clallam County jail for allegedly trying to loot copper metal and merchandise from the charred remains of the New Peking restaurant.
Clallam County sheriff’s deputies said Craig Steven Foster, described by the Sheriff’s Office as living in the “Sequim area,” was arrested for investigation of burglary and theft at the site of the destroyed restaurant and lounge at 2416 E. Highway 101 in the unincorporated Gales Addition district east of the city limit.
Sheriff’s Chief Criminal Deputy Ron Cameron said Foster had a number of items valued at less than $750 in his car, Cameron said.
The New Peking was destroyed in the early morning hours last Tuesday in a fire that closed U.S. Highway 101 in both directions during the commute between Port Angeles and Sequim.
The cause of the fire is under investigation and the remains are cordoned off by fire tape and surrounded by a temporary chain-link fence.
But about 7:15 a.m. Sunday, authorities received a report of a Cadillac parked behind the New Peking rubble.
Deputies responded and found Foster in what remained of the bar area of the establishment — inside the chain link fence and barrier tape perimeter.
Detectives said Foster dismantled the fence, then removed copper wire and copper pipe, assorted unopened alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages and other items.
Scrap copper is one of the more coveted metals for resale.
The copper pipe and other allegedly stolen items from the New Peking were found in Foster’s car, the Sheriff’s Office said.
There was no permanent damage to the chain-link fence, Cameron said.
Although the business was destroyed by the fire, items in the building are still the private property of the business owners and are not available for salvage by the public, he said.
The structure — which was built as a dance hall during World War II — has been compromised and may pose a danger to people near or inside the remains, Cameron said.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
