EVERETT — A convicted felon caught with a cache of stolen guns earlier this year has been sentenced to 18 years in prison.
Todd Bass, 31, quietly accepted his lengthy prison sentence at a brief court hearing Tuesday.
Bass pleaded guilty to a handful of crimes, including being a felon in possession of a firearm and two counts of having stolen guns. Under the law, the sentences for those three convictions must be served consecutively. That added more than a decade to the sentence for the most serious offense.
In exchange for his guilty plea, prosecutors agreed not to tack on additional charges related to two other victims whose guns were stolen during break-ins at their homes.
“I was wrong. I’m sorry,” Bass said.
Sheriff’s deputies caught up with Bass in January after they tracked a stolen Chevy Tahoe to a Snohomish-area home. The SUV was taken from outside a Kirkland hotel. The vehicle’s global positioning system alerted authorities to its location. Bass was behind the wheel. In the back of the vehicle, deputies found a dozen guns, including military-style rifles, pistols and shotguns, court papers said. They also discovered a large amount of ammunition.
Deputies said they discovered two other guns in a Chevy Impala that Bass left at the property. The guns had been stolen during home burglaries in other counties, court papers said. Deputies also found a stolen Ford van parked next to the Tahoe. The ignitions to both vehicles had been damaged, allowing the cars to be started without keys.
Police were told that Bass was headed to Idaho.
Bass was forbidden from having guns. At 16, he earned two felony convictions for stealing a gun and a burglary. About five years later, Bass was convicted of four more felonies stemming from an incident involving police in King County.
Officers there were investigating an armed robbery and stopped Bass after he was seen near the crime scene wearing clothing similar to the robbery suspect. Police reported that Bass pulled a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun from his pocket and pointed the weapon in an officer’s face. The officer was able to deflect the gun and disarm Bass.
Bass pleaded guilty to the charges. He was released from prison in 2010.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com.
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