SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES
Dori: Pierce County Jail blames COVID for releasing thieves caught twice by police
Feb 15, 2022, 3:06 PM
An inmate prepares to deep clean a cell pod to prevent the spread of COVID-19 at the San Diego County Jail in 2020. (Photo by Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images)
(Photo by Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images)
Need a get-out-of-jail-free card? All you need to do is steal a car in Pierce County – as long as you don’t use violence.
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That’s what Edgewood-area business owner Ashley learned Monday when police responded after three car thieves hopped into one of her company trucks, drove through her parking lot fence, and escaped.
What shocked Ashley enough to reach out to The Dori Monson Show was that police couldn’t arrest or lock up the trio of thieves because the Pierce County Jail isn’t booking or accepting new non-violent offenders due to COVID-19.
Pierce County sheriff’s deputies, who serve as Edgewood’s police, confirmed Ashley’s story.
“It was insane,” Ashley told Dori. “But the worst part was that when the police came, they told me they had stopped these three people about an hour earlier for having a stolen vehicle that they drove into somebody’s house.”
Free to leave the scene of that first crime, the trio happened upon Ashley’s business. That’s where her mechanic was starting vehicle engines to make sure they were operational, having survived a rash of catalytic converter thefts.
“It is not a problem with the police officers,” Ashley clarified. “Every police officer I spoke with yesterday was completely beside themselves with frustration. It’s the policies from our lawmakers and our prosecutors.”
Hours later, police tracked the stolen company truck to a house in Tacoma. When Ashley responded to the scene to claim the vehicle, the thieves were sitting on the front porch having a barbecue. The pickup truck was littered with drug paraphernalia.
“[The police] gave it back to one of the girls who stole the truck, because obviously I didn’t want it,” Ashley told Dori, adding — with a touch of sarcasm — “and if they didn’t give it back to her, she could still get one of the Joe Biden-funded (safe smoking) kits.”
Listen to Dori’s interview with business truck theft victim Ashley:
Listen to the Dori Monson Show weekday afternoons from noon – 3 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.
