PORT ANGELES — A man involved in the theft of $18,000 in items from E-Z Pawn Inc. last year is expected to begin a six-month jail sentence after pleading guilty.
Bret M. Dotson, 31, of Port Angeles pleaded guilty last week to burglary, possession of stolen property and unlawful possession of a firearm, all in the second degree.
John Troberg, Clallam County chief criminal deputy prosecuting attorney, said Monday afternoon Dotson was expected to show up at 6 p.m. Monday to begin serving his sentence.
Superior Court Judge George L. Wood sentenced Dotson on Thursday in connection with the theft of $18,000 in jewelry and two handguns from E-Z Pawn.
Authorities believe three men were involved in the May 11, 2013, theft, but Dotson is the only one convicted in the crime.
Dotson refused to give information to authorities about the alleged involvement of a 27-year-old man from Port Angeles with no known address whose charges were dismissed due to insufficient evidence, John Troberg, Clallam County chief deputy prosecuting attorney, said Monday.
A suspected third accomplice was never identified, Troberg said.
Two handguns and much of the jewelry was recovered, he said.
The heist, captured on a surveillance tape, began when two masked men dressed in black broke through the glass door of the downtown Port Angeles pawn shop at about 3 a.m. and fled 58 seconds later, Troberg said.
“It’s clear they knew what they were looking for,” Troberg said.
“The video shows a third person yelling something like, ‘Come on, let’s get out of here.”
Police said the burglars made off with more than 100 pieces of jewelry ranging in value from $40 to $1,500 and two .45-caliber handguns from the business at 113 W. First St.
Police chased a driver who fled from the scene in a Kia but lost the vehicle.
The vehicle was unoccupied when it was located later but had some of the jewelry inside, Troberg said.
A Port Angeles Police Department K-9 unit tracked scent from the car for two or three blocks to Dotson’s residence, where jewelry and the guns were found in a compartment hidden under the floor of a laundry room. No suspects were at the home at the time.
After Dotson was arrested several days later, he stayed silent about anyone else’s alleged involvement, Troberg said.
“He was unwilling to cooperate,” Troberg said.
“He claimed he could not or would not cooperate with identification and testimony as to the other two burglars.”
The illegal possession of firearms charge against Dotson grew from his previous conviction for fourth-degree assault-domestic violence, Troberg said.
Wood sentenced Dotson to six months for the theft after Prosecuting Attorney William Payne had sought 12 months of incarceration.
Deputy Police Chief Brian Smith said Monday that police were unable to establish a link between the E-Z Pawn burglary and the burglary of the Radio Shack two miles east at 1940 E. First St. three days earlier on May 8, 2013.
Both businesses were entered after their front-door glass was shattered, Smith said.
In the Radio Shack burglary, 14 items valued at $3,400 were stolen, including laser printers, iPods, a computer and an Xbox, Smith said.
“We still have a bunch of suspects in this case,” Smith said.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5060, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladaily
news.com.
