GARDINER — Two men — one from Sequim and one from Tacoma — were arrested in the act of burglarizing a house Monday after a watchful neighbor alerted deputies, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday.
Ronald Lee Williams, 51, of Sequim was arrested in investigation of residential burglary, while Jonathan Leif Laharne, 32, of Tacoma was arrested on investigation of burglary and possession of 40 grams or less of marijuana.
Both remained in the Jefferson County jail Tuesday, Williams with a $100,000 bond and Laharne with a $50,000 bond, according to the jail roster.
Court documents gave this account:
The two men had backed a black pickup behind a house at 276261 U.S. Highway 101 in Gardiner and were loading materials into it at about 4 p.m. when an unidentified neighbor noticed the activity and called the owner of the house.
Reed Gunstone, who does not live on the premises but who occassionally rents it out, told the neighbor that no one should be in the house because it is currently unoccupied.
The neighbor called 9-1-1, and four deputies arrived at about 4:20 p.m.
The officers broke into pairs, with each pair approaching the back of the house from a different direction.
They confronted Williams, who they saw going in and out of the house. One deputy held him at gunpoint, while another handcuffed him.
Deputies saw Lahame in the brush. He also was taken into custody.
In his incident report, Deputy Don Johnson said that Williams “gave several stories” about why he was on the property, including that he wanted to find out who owned the house, that he was looking for a house to rent, that he needed to relieve himself, and that his dog needed to relieve himself.
Williams first denied being in the house, but changed the story when deputies said he was witnessed entering it.
He then said he was in the house and didn’t change anything, but changed his story when deputies pointed out that loose tile in the truck bed matched that in the house.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
