SEQUIM — Trial dates in April and May have been set for two men arrested in the case of a March 5 Sequim-area home break-in after they pleaded not guilty this week to burglary charges.
Andrew Donald Luquette, 31, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to one count each of second-degree burglary, second-degree possession of stolen property and taking a motor vehicle without permission during a Clallam County Superior Court hearing presided over by Judge George L. Wood.
Alleged accomplice
Alleged accomplice Ronnie Lee Bayley, 37, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to one count each of second-degree burglary and second-degree taking a motor vehicle without permission during a Superior Court hearing presided over by Judge Erik Rohrer.
Both men — in addition to Andrew Luquette’s brother, Ryan Joseph Luquette, 34 — are charged in the burglary of a home along Woodcock Road in which tools, other personal property and a Red Jeep Cherokee reportedly were stolen, according to the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office.
Bayley is set to face an April 28 trial, with a status hearing set April 11.
Andrew Luquette faces a May 5 trial and an April 11 status hearing.
Sheriff’s deputies received an anonymous tip Sunday that led them to a home near Sequim where Andrew Luquette surrendered without incident, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies continue to investigate whether Drew Tyler Balch, 21, a fourth man arrested in the larger burglary investigation, was directly involved in the burglary, Detective Sgt. John Keegan said Wednesday.
“That’s all an open investigation that we’re currently working on,” Keegan said.
Balch pleaded not guilty Friday to one count each of attempting to elude a police vehicle, second-degree driving with a suspended license and hit-and-run/property damage on an unattended vehicle.
Balch was caught March 5 after a 19.8-mile chase in a gray pickup truck that ended on Old Gardiner Road.
All four men remained in the Clallam County jail Wednesday.
Sheriff’s investigation
The Sheriff’s Office said the investigation began March 5 with reports of people transferring items between a gray pickup truck, allegedly driven by Balch, and a red Jeep Cherokee parked on Many Feathers Way in Sequim.
Deputies pursued and caught up to the truck, learning later that the Jeep had been reported stolen from a burglarized house on Woodcock Road.
Deputies said tools and other personal property were taken from the Woodcock Road home, and they found the stolen Jeep stripped the next day along a logging road near the 2900 block of Black Diamond Road in Agnew.
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Reporter Jeremy Schwartz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jschwartz@peninsuladailynews.com.
