PORT ANGELES — Bail was set at $7,500 Wednesday for a Port Angeles man connected to an alleged burglary that was interrupted by members of the resident’s family, city police said.
Britt Terry-Omar Needham, 24, was arrested outside a portable toilet near Tumwater Truck Route after a reported Tuesday burglary in the 700 block of West Ninth Street.
Port Angeles police said Needham had entered a residence through an unlocked window and was spotted fleeing with stolen items into the Tumwater Creek ravine at about 5:20 p.m.
The alleged victim told Police Cpl. Kori Malone that her sister and mother were chasing a man who had her belongings in the gully, according to the arrest narrative.
Police established a containment area in the gully, which was described as being muddy and thick with blackberry bushes.
Several witnesses told Officer Jeff Thaxton that a man was seen running across Tumwater Truck Route and stripping off his clothes before entering a portable toilet, police said.
Needham was arrested outside the toilet without further incident.
“The suspect was found to be covered with fresh scratches and bleeding,” police said in a release.
“He was also wet and muddy.”
Sgt. Kevin Miller and K-9 Bodie completed a “confirmation track” that led from the alleged victim’s residence to the portable toilet, police said.
Miller and the police dog found stolen pillows, the alleged victim’s sweater and a New Zealand coin, according to the arrest report.
Needham was booked into the Clallam County jail for investigation of residential burglary, malicious mischief and theft.
The Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office will consider filing formal charges Friday.
A witness told police she noticed her sister’s front door was slightly open.
“She went outside and saw a male with a suitcase in the bushes,” Malone wrote in the affidavit for probable cause.
“He was shoving things inside the suitcase. She recognized one of the items as a pillow from her sister’s house. She confronted the male, who began throwing items down into the gully and he jumped down after them.”
Needham continued throwing items further down the gully until witnesses lost sight of him, Malone said.
The alleged victim told Malone that she had left her residence at 3:30 p.m. and returned home at about 5:20 p.m. and noticed that a screen had been removed from her bathroom window.
“She noticed that items had been disturbed in her home,” Malone wrote.
“[The alleged victim] told me that she was inside her home when she heard her sister yelling outside.”
Two laptop computers and a hard drive that were reported as stolen were not recovered, police said.
Police later determined that a neighboring residence had also been entered and that property had been taken, Malone said.
The residents returned home at about 4:45 p.m. to find a kitchen window had been broken and frozen food, a vodka bottle and other personal items were missing, Malone wrote in the arrest report.
A piece of metal that was found in Needham’s pocket was determined to match a damaged window frame from the second residence.
“The piece of metal fit the damage like a puzzle piece,” Malone wrote in the probable cause statement.
A bicycle and duffle bag found near the edge of the gully was identified as property taken from the second residence, police said.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at [email protected].
