A Port Angeles man has been arrested on investigation of at least 12 burglaries across Clallam County, including several Sequim businesses.
Paul Allen Spoon, 41, allegedly committed burglaries and attempted burglaries sometime between Nov. 17-20, the Sequim Police Department said.
He was being held Monday without bond at the Clallam County jail.
Spoon was arrested Dec. 2 in unincorporated Kitsap County, where Kitsap County Sheriff’s deputies located a vehicle associated with Spoon and found him allegedly in process of burglarizing a chiropractic office, law enforcement officials reported.
Officers from both the Sequim and Port Angeles police departments and Clallam County Sheriff’s deputies were investigating burglaries in Port Angeles, Sequim and unincorporated county areas they believe relate to Spoon.
Sequim Police Sgt. Mike Hill said the agencies shared information on the burglaries, including a possible connection between chiropractic and medical offices being targeted with neighboring county agencies; Jefferson and Kitsap counties both have seen similar burglaries recently, Hill said.
Hill said owners of Kim Nails in Sequim reported about $5,000 in cash and a business checkbook had been stolen sometime prior to Nov. 17, after someone broke in through a window.
Two more medical offices along the 500 block of North Fifth Avenue in Sequim reported burglaries on Nov. 18, but nothing was reported stolen, Hill said.
Spoon, who has been convicted of previous burglaries, was booked into the Kitsap County Correctional Facility on Dec. 2 on investigation for several counts of second-degree burglary.
After he was interviewed by Sequim police and Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office detectives, law enforcement officials developed probable cause that he committed burglaries in both Clallam and Jefferson Counties, they reported.
Spoon was released on his own recognizance from Kitsap County Superior Court on Dec. 3 and booked back into Kitsap County jail on investigation of new charges related to additional crimes in Kitsap County.
Spoon was released by Kitsap County Superior Court on Dec. 4 and immediately arrested by Sequim Police officers and taken to Clallam County jail.
Sequim police detectives had served a search warrant at Spoon’s Port Angeles home Dec. 4 to recover property allegedly connected to burglaries in Clallam County.
Hill said Friday there is more evidence to decipher and investigation to be complete. He added he anticipates co-conspirators will be arrested.
Included in the dozens of bags of confiscated property were alcohol, checkbooks, computers, essential oils, rocks and more, Hill said.
Spoon was booked on investigation of 10 counts of second-degree burglary, three counts attempted second-degree burglary, two counts each of first-degree theft and second-degree theft, five counts of third-degree theft, and eight counts of third-degree malicious mischief.
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Matthew Nash is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. Reach him at mnash@sequimgazette.com.