Police join forces to fight property crime

MARYSVILLE — It took about an hour before Sgt. James Maples had what he describes as his first “Aha” moment.

It was the morning of Jan. 6. The veteran Marysville police officer was watching five detectives from three different agencies on their first morning working together.

They were starting from scratch, but it didn’t take long before they were bandying about suspect names and descriptions of different property crimes within their boundaries. They compared notes about MOs and suspicions about people crossing into different jurisdictions to plunder homes and vehicles.

“It was eye opening,” Maples said.

Less than three weeks later, the new team has returned a prized possession stolen from a 10-year-old girl, a military commendation taken from a veteran and two pigs poached from an Arlington area farm.

Arrests have been made and investigations are building.

Maples has high hopes for the squad that, for now, is a one-year pilot project and a potential model for similar police teams in other parts of the county.

The team has no fancy title. It’s simply known at the Property Crimes Unit and includes detectives from the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office and the Marysville and Lake Stevens police departments. Plans also include a crime analyst.

Their beat is a large swath of north Snohomish County that is home to about a quarter of a million people. It includes the Stillaguamish Tribe Reservation, but not the Tulalip Indian Reservation or city of Arlington.

“Our hope is to pull more players in as time goes by,” Maples said.

They have their marching orders. A major focus is pooling their collective knowledge to catch serial burglars and thieves. In some cases, they will pursue fraud cases if they begin with a break-in.

“It allows us to take our resources to build a case against the individuals who have become habitual criminals,” Maples said. “We are trying to chase after people who have been (identified) as the worst of the worst.”

Maples said each department worked hard to solve crimes before they joined forces, but “what we don’t know is what we don’t know.” By bringing the detectives together in the same room, they can compare notes and fill in some of those blanks in their investigations.

Besides the career criminals, the property crimes unit hopes to track down new addicts who’ve just begun resorting to property crimes to feed their drug habits. The idea is to get them help while holding them accountable.

So much of property crimes these days can be traced to an upsurge in heroin use, Maples said.

The detectives also plan to work closely with patrol officers and, at times, assist at crimes scenes while cases are unfolding. In such cases, the patrol officers could be tracking a suspect while the detectives gather evidence, talk to witnesses and get an early start on their investigations.

The unit won’t be assigned every property crime report, Maples said. It must be selective to be effective.

The team also hopes to cut into the crime rate by working with people on ways to protect their homes and their neighborhoods. They want to encourage people to report things that seem suspicious near where they live.

“They can be our best front-line defense,” he said.

To some degree, the detectives might enlist help from victims. That could entail having people monitor popular websites, such as craigslist and eBay, to search for their stolen items before handing their findings off to the detectives to pursue.

Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446; stevick@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett will welcome new CEO in June

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Kelli Littlejohn, who was 11 when her older sister Melissa Lee was murdered, speaks to a group of investigators and deputies to thank them for bringing closure to her family after over 30 years on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘She can rest in peace’: Jury convicts Bothell man in 1993 killing

Even after police arrested Alan Dean in 2020, it was unclear if he would stand trial. He was convicted Thursday in the murder of Melissa Lee, 15.

Ariel Garcia, 4, was last seen Wednesday morning in an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Dr. (Photo provided by Everett Police)
Everett police searching for missing child, 4

Ariel Garcia was last seen Wednesday at an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Drive. The child was missing under “suspicious circumstances.”

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Everett
11 months later, Lake Stevens man charged in fatal Casino Road shooting

Malik Fulson is accused of shooting Joseph Haderlie to death in the parking lot at the Crystal Springs Apartments last April.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.