SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. — A resident's alert led Spokane police to recover more than $100,000 in stolen property and stop a stolen property trafficking ring across the city in May.
A man was leaving his apartment in Northwest Spokane at approximately 4:30 a.m. on May 17 when he said he noticed two pairs of legs sticking out from underneath his neighbor's car. The man told police he also hear sawing sounds coming from underneath the car, which led him to realize the men under the car were stealing the catalytic converter.
He notified police of the situation and told them about an unoccupied pickup truck that was parked nearby.
When officers arrived and began to investigate, a man, who was later identified as 26-year-old Tyler Larsen, told them that the truck belonged to a friend and that he had been sent to pick it up. The friend was later identified as 35-year-old Vitaliy Budimir.
While officers were waiting for Budimir, they looked further at the truck and saw what appeared to be stolen tools, purses, and an exhaust muffler. When Budimir arrived, he told officers that his truck had been stolen earlier.
After an extensive investigation by patrol officers, they determined that Budimir, along with another unknown man, attempted to cut and steal the catalytic converter off a vehicle, causing more than $1,000 in damage to that car.
Police arrested Budimir on second-degree malicious mischief and second-degree attempted theft. Larsen was also arrested for making a false statement to a public servant. Budimir was released on his own recognizance the next day and Larsen was booked and immediately released on his own recognizance.
When officers searched inside the pickup truck, they found more stolen objects such as catalytic converters, tools, ID cards, access devices (credit/debit cards), and tools used to remove a catalytic converter. Officers also found more information during the investigation revealing an address where more stolen items may be located.
Investigating patrol officers, along with Stolen Property Enforcement and Recovery detectives (PEAR), executed a search warrant on the home on May 25.
When officers arrived, a suspect, who police identified as 22-year-old Joshua Semenchuk, jumped a fence in the backyard of the home. He tried to run away but was apprehended and arrested for unrelated felony theft of a motor vehicle warrant.
During the search of the home, officers found "an extensive amount" of stolen property valued at about $20,000 and recovered six other catalytic converters. Detectives and crime analysts were able to search for stolen property reports and compare them to the items inside the home to expedite the process of returning items to owners.
Officers recovered various objects that were reported as stolen including several coin-operated toy machines valued at about $3,000, and an electric bicycle valued at over $1,500, which was returned to its owner.
Officers were able to arrest 30-year-old Jerry Parsons for an outstanding commercial burglary warrant and eluding a police vehicle. Parsons was found to be linked to Budimir and may face additional charges related to the theft of coin machines and usage of a victim’s credit cards.
Officers later located more stolen property inside two storage units in North Spokane. After a search warrant for two separate units, officers found both units were nearly full of stolen items. They found a cache of new-in-box power tools, clothing with the tags still on, generators, and electrical equipment. Detectives and the crime analyst were able to locate the victims of the thefts.
Inside one unit, a number of guns, including an illegal sawed-off shotgun, were found. Officers arrested the renters of both storage units, 30-year-old Ryan Smith and 29-year-old Wilma Haight.
Stolen property found
Officers were also able to obtain a search warrant in the hotel room that resulted in the seizure of nearly $1,000 cash, $3,000 in money orders, about 43 cash gift cards of various values, fentanyl “Mexi” pills, and the pickup truck.
Smith and Haight were booked into the Spokane County Jail for first-degree possession of stolen property, possession of an unlawful firearm, and first degree trafficking of stolen property. Haight had a misdemeanor warrant for third degree theft. A search of the pickup truck yielded another large amount of potentially stolen property.
An estimated $100,000 in stolen property was recovered by police, which police said stopped an organized stolen property trafficking ring.
Officers arrested a total of seven associated suspects in the ongoing investigation. They also recovered three firearms, including the sawed-off shotgun, and a reported stolen handgun.