FORKS — A 14-year-old boy who was allegedly carrying about 4 ounces of methamphetamine when he was arrested is among two teenagers charged in connection with a string of West End burglaries.
The charges include the theft of two vehicles, while the burglaries include a home-invasion theft of more than a dozen firearms that occurred while the homeowners were sleeping, authorities said.
The 14-year-old, a Forks resident, allegedly had about 4 ounces of methamphetamine when he was arrested last week, Forks Police Department Administrator Rick Bart said.
“I want to know where he got it,” Bart said.
The street value of methamphetamine is $1,000 to $1,200 an ounce, though the value escalates dramatically when it’s sold for $50 to $80 a gram, said Darrell Nelson, a Sequim police detective assigned to the county Drug Task Force.
“Most of this is broken up and sold in much smaller quantities,” Nelson said, adding people commonly steal to finance their drug habits.
The 14-year-old was charged last Thursday in the juvenile division of Clallam County Superior Court with second-degree theft of a motor vehicle and possession of methamphetamine.
Judge S. Brooke Taylor set his arraignment for Thursday.
The 14-year-old’s alleged accomplice was a 16-year-old boy, also a Forks resident.
He was charged in juvenile court with two counts of second-degree theft of a motor vehicle and one count each of residential burglary, theft of a firearm, second-degree trafficking in stolen property and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.
He pleaded not guilty.
Taylor set a factfinding date of Sept. 13.
The 16-year-old was arrested with assistance from the county Sheriff’s Department, who linked him to a residential burglary and theft that occurred in Clallam Bay, West End Sgt. Brian King said last week.
Most of the firearms were recovered, King said.
“That is one of the cases that this arrest brings closure to,” he said.
Mayor Bryon Monohon said a citizen who saw information about a string of burglaries on the Facebook page, “Forks Washington Crime Watch,” which was created by a Forks resident — and which helped lead police to the suspected burglars.
The person was driving by a house in Forks and saw what appeared to be two people moving guns from a house to a car, Monohon said.
“He knew what to be looking for from that website,” Monohon said.
“Facebook assisted us and people involved assisted us in identifying the suspects much quicker than we would have been able to.
“We had people knowing what was going on and what to look for.”
Both teenagers are charged with the Aug. 13 theft of a Jeep, according to Superior Court records.
The 16-year-old also allegedly stole a Dodge Durango on July 25, the same day he allegedly committed residential burglary and theft of a firearm.
That same day, he allegedly tried selling the guns, prompting the trafficking-in-stolen-property charge, according to court records.
Bart said more charges are expected against the teenagers, who were incarcerated at the county Family and Juvenile Services Facility in Port Angeles following their arrest.
“These guys were very prolific,” Bart said.
“They were doing things almost every day in Forks, breaking into houses, stealing from houses, breaking into cars,” he said.
“They were very, very busy.”
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5060, or at paul.gottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.