Alleged car theft, wallet theft and business break-in on Orcas

The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office is following up on three crimes that allegedly occurred on Orcas in early November.

On Nov. 5, someone broke into an Eastsound business on North Beach Road and took $1,000. It appears the burglar opened the kitchen window with a handtool and climbed through a set of bars and the window frame. A can of tomato paste was taken. The break-in is believed to have occurred after 11 p.m. Deputies spoke to a local homeless man who offered a possible suspect, but there are no leads at this time.

On Nov. 10, a Chevy Avalanche truck was reported stolen from an Orcas resident’s driveway the night of Nov. 9. The keys were left in the ignition and it was unlocked. Deputies recovered the damaged vehicle four days later, near the scene of a collision between a car and a power pole on Olga Road.

The car owner’s timeline of events changed after deputies found a receipt to a local restaurant time-stamped the night of the alleged theft inside the vehicle, however, his roommate stated that they both went to bed around 11 p.m. and in the morning the truck was gone. It appeared that pieces of the truck that had come off in the collision were put back onto the car, which was driven from the collision scene, backed 200 feet down a private driveway and parked off the roadway. The deputy’s report states, “Based on my training and experience, this is not something typically done when a person who steals a vehicle [then] wrecks a vehicle.” In addition, the alleged victim reported stolen tools from his truck, yet when the deputy offered to meet him and search the vehicle, he never heard back from the owner. The deputy’s report states that “there are no suspects or leads” at this time.

On Nov. 10, an Orcas woman reported her wallet was stolen around 3:30 p.m. in the Village Green.

Anyone with information about these incidents is asked to call the sheriff’s office at 360-378-4151.