PORT ANGELES — A Port Angeles man has been arrested for investigation of possession of a stolen vehicle and possession of a controlled substance after deputies said they found a “chop shop” for stolen cars east of Port Angeles.
Clinton L. King, 35, remained in the Clallam County jail Monday with no bond set. He also was is listed as having two pay-or-appear warrants from Clallam County and one Class B felony warrant from Benton County.
“He has an extensive felony history” of being charged with unlawful possession of firearms and drugs, Clallam County Sheriff’s Deputy Paul Federline, who was one of the arresting officers, said of King.
The case is being forwarded to the Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for charging.
The investigating is continuing, Pieper said.
King fled on foot upon the arrival of the deputies on Saturday, but he was arrested at the barn early Sunday morning without incident, said Sgt. Randy Pieper of the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office in a news release.
He was found to be in possession of a small quantity of suspected methamphetamine, Pieper said.
King was recently convicted in jury trial as a felon in possession of a (stolen) firearm in the Clallam County Superior Court and was out awaiting sentencing, Pieper said.
Federline said the property was well known to police as a site where people with outstanding warrants congregated, and for drug activity.
There was no evidence as to how many vehicles had passed through the shop, Federline said, although he noticed “buckets of automobile parts and metal everywhere” in the barn.
A chop shop is a place where stolen automobiles are taken apart so that the parts can be sold.
Clallam County Sheriff’s Detective Shaun Minks and Federline received a tip from a passerby at about 4:15 p.m. Saturday about a Toyota pickup being sanded down, apparently to be re-painted, in a barn behind 13 Roundtree Road off Monroe Road east of Port Angeles.
“The person called and said he saw a pickup inside a barn being worked on,” Federline said.
“He thought it was suspicious because the truck had no license plates.”
Minks and Federline reportedly found several people and vehicles in the barn.
They received permission from the property owner to check the property for stolen vehicles and found that the 1988 Toyota pickup truck had been reported stolen from the Port Angeles area.
They said they found a dismantled 1996 Honda Accord that had been reported stolen from the Sequim area. The parts were piled in the barn.
A search warrant was obtained from the Clallam County Superior Court.
In addition to King, four people who were transients or otherwise resided at the residence were found to have outstanding local warrants for their arrests, deputies said.
Those arrested were Cory Stokes, 30; Rhiannon Mackey, 24; and Donald Christiansen, 34 — all in custody as of Monday, and Brian Mackey, 46, who was no longer in custody Monday, and who had several outstanding warrants, Federline said.
The pick-up was returned to its owner.
