PORT ANGELES — A Port Angeles man was in the Clallam County jail Saturday after three men stopped him from allegedly trying to break into a food stand in east Port Angeles on Friday evening.
Jerry Wright, Bruce Rehler and Guy Lipsky subdued the man, later identified as Eric James Nelson, 35, near Angelo’s On the Go on Kemp Street near the east Port Angeles Safeway at about 6:30 p.m. Friday.
The struggle left Nelson with a bloody nose, according to the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office.
Nelson, who had no bail set, was booked for investigation of third-degree theft and three outstanding warrants: two from Olympia District Court for his arrest stemming from a domestic violence case and one from Seattle District Court for contempt of court.
No break-in
Angelo’s was not broken into and sustained no damage, the Sheriff’s Office said.
About an hour before, Nelson allegedly had tried to shoplift two bottles of Jack Daniels whiskey and 2 liters of soda from the Safeway at 2709 E. U.S. Highway 101, according to the Sheriff’s Office, and fled without the goods after the store manager confronted him.
Nelson had been last seen across Highway 101 from the Safeway.
One deputy and two sergeants from the Sheriff’s Office searched the area but did not find Nelson, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Soon after, deputies received a call from Wright, the owner of Jerry’s Bait and Tackle, about a man trying to break into the back door of Angelo’s, which sits just across the street from Wright’s shop.
Wright, Rehler and Lipsky confronted Nelson and pinned him to the ground.
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Reporter Jeremy Schwartz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jschwartz@peninsuladailynews.com.
