PORT ANGELES — John Kingsley knew something was awry when his German shepherd-husky mix wouldn’t come to the door.
The 38-year-old Port Angeles musician was trying to coax the dog, Kurdt, into the house when he spotted a man wearing a black-hooded sweatshirt carrying a bass guitar from Kingsley’s jam room through the backyard of his West 17th Street home Friday afternoon.
The man tossed the instrument over a fence after he was confronted by Kingsley.
“At that point, I got pretty upset,” Kingsley said.
“I said, ‘What are you doing, you tweaker?’”
Collin J. Kennedy, 24, was arrested for investigation of first-degree burglary in the case and remained in the Clallam County jail without bond Saturday.
Kingsley, the singer in a four-piece grunge band called The Mudbanks, had been in a separate portion of the house during the burglary.
Once he spotted him, Kingsley said he ordered the man to retrieve the damaged bass and followed him a short distance down an alley.
“I said ‘You’re lucky you haven’t been shot,’” Kingsley said.
Kingsley reached out to grab the man. The burglar drew a knife and fled toward Lincoln Park.
Kingsley phoned police at about 3:30 p.m.
Port Angeles Police Cpl. Joshua Powless, the only available unit at the time of the call, requested backup and coordinated “an all-agency effort” at Lincoln Park, said Brian Smith, Port Angeles deputy police chief.
Clallam County sheriff’s deputies, Elwha tribal police, the Olympic Peninsula Narcotics Enforcement Team, U.S. Border Patrol and other agencies swarmed the wooded area and surrounding neighborhood.
It was “a very active deployment of resources very quickly to isolate and arrest him,” Smith said.
The man was spotted by an Elwha officer at 18th and H streets at the edge of Lincoln Park, about two blocks from Kingsley’s residence.
He was arrested by Port Angeles Police Detective Cpl. Kori Malone.
“The agencies did a good job working together to contain Lincoln Park very quickly, which resulted in finding the suspect quickly,” Powless said in an email.
Kennedy was booked into jail at 6:10 p.m.
After his investigation, Powless recommended additional charges of second-degree assault, possession of heroin, third-degree theft and third-degree malicious mischief.
“The assault stems from the suspect displaying a knife at the homeowner, who had been initially following him,” Powless said.
The Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office will consider filing formal charges this week.
Kingsley said the arrest was made within 20 minutes of his encounter with the burglar.
He thanked police for their quick response and two neighbors who helped officers.
“Sometimes you just don’t realize how important the police are until you need them,” Kingsley said.
“I feel kind of bad that I’ve taken them for granted over the years.”
Powless said the neighbors made good observations of the burglar.
“Alert neighbors are always a good thing, and they pointed us in the right direction to pursue the suspect,” Powless said.
“As you know, just one neighbor that is paying attention can be a big difference in the investigation of these cases.”
A Sequim police dog arrived after the arrest and helped search the woods for stolen property.
Most of the property — including microphones, headphones and a personalized acoustic guitar — was recovered.
Kingsley said he is still missing an iPhone and needed to confirm with The Mudbanks’ guitar player that their recording equipment is accounted for.
“If it is missing, it would ruin the band for the moment,” Kingsley said.
Smith said it is rare for a person fleeing from police to be apprehended so quickly.
“We had great cooperation from the victim and a very timely report,” Smith said when reached by phone Saturday.
“The fact that Cpl. Josh Powless was able to pull this off is impressive. Now, of course, we have to go backwards and build our criminal case.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
