PORT ANGELES — After increasing patrols and using high-tech equipment to attempt to trap those responsible for a recent spate of burglaries, it turns out police simply needed to wait by their own door to catch their next suspect.
On Tuesday morning, Paul Aaron McDonald, arrived in a taxi at the Port Angeles police station seeking sanctuary from a woman who accused him of breaking into her Ennis Creek Road home and stealing her purse the night before.
McDonald, 28, who later was arrested for investigation of residential burglary and third-degree theft, began pounding on the back door of the police station and shouting for help, said Kate Smith, the woman who accused him of stealing her purse.
At the same time, Smith said, he was telling her she was going to go to jail.
Detective Sgt. Steve Coyle said he and another detective came outside and spoke to McDonald and Smith.
Both were making claims against each other, he said, adding that it took a bit to sort out exactly what happened.
“We didn’t figure it out right then in the parking lot,” he said.
Through interviews with both of them, and a search of McDonald’s tent near Ennis Creek Road, where items from Smith’s purse were found, police arrested the homeless man Tuesday afternoon.
The police allege that McDonald had burglarized Smith’s home and was responsible for another burglary at Hi Tech Tanning that occurred July 27, Coyle said.
How confrontation began
Smith, 50, said her confrontation with McDonald began Monday evening when she saw him reclining in the passenger seat of a car parked near her home.
Aware of the recent spike in burglaries, which have totaled about 60 since June 1, she said she asked him what he was doing.
She said that he responded that he and a friend, who later appeared from the bushes, both pulled over to urinate in the foliage.
The next morning, shortly after discovering that her purse was missing from her living room, Smith said she saw McDonald again, this time walking out of the woods near her home.
In his hands was a large 35 mm camera.
“I said, ‘What are you doing here?'” Smith recalled.
McDonald falsely said that he was a reporter with the Peninsula Daily News, perhaps believing the camera would help that story stick, she said.
Not buying the explanation, Smith said she asked for his boss’s phone number.
He gave her a number, which she phoned while standing in front of him. As her cell phone rang, so did McDonald’s.
“It was his cell phone [number],” she said, astonished. “He’s two feet in front of me, and on my phone, I could hear him.”
Smith said McDonald then ran into the nearby woods and returned shortly afterward to get into a taxi that he apparently called.
As the taxi drove away, Smith said she got in her car and pursued the vehicle.
Both phoned police
She said she phoned 9-1-1 to report that she was pursuing a man she believed burglarized her home.
At the same time, police Sgt. Barb McFall said, McDonald was also on the phone with dispatchers reporting that a woman was chasing him and driving erratically.
Deputy Police Chief Brian Smith, Police Chief Terry Gallagher, and McFall were each at a loss to explain why McDonald would react to Smith’s accusation by bringing himself to the police station at 321 E. Fifth St.
Coyle, who has had several run-ins with McDonald, said he believes he was honestly seeking help.
“He didn’t know what to do,” Coyle said. “He was afraid.”
But each of the four officers acknowledge that McDonald made their jobs a bit easier that day.
‘Appreciate it when they stop by’
“There’s no question we appreciate it when they stop by,” Gallagher said.
Smith said she was surprised to find that the taxi heading to the police station.
But she added that she found the situation simply sad rather than humorous.
“My take on it is that he is a sad person,” Smith said.
“I wish things were different for him.”
She said her home was unlocked, despite her suspicions about McDonald, when the purse was stolen.
“I went against my intuitions,” Smith said.
Brian Smith and Coyle said detectives continue to seek others that may be involved with recent burglaries.
They also said they are investigating whether McDonald may be responsible for other thefts.
McDonald has not been formally charged. His next court appearance is Monday.
Anyone who has information on the burglaries should call Port Angeles police at 360-452-4545.
Those who spot trespassers are urged to phone 9-1-1.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
