Car Prowl Reports Subside

DAYTON - According to the Columbia County Sheriff's Office, only two incidents of thefts of items from cars were reported here between December 1 and January 10. That com­pares with more than 50 car prowls that were reported to have taken place in Dayton between September 1 and November 30 last year.

And for one of the two recent reports, the vehicle's owner was unsure of when the theft took place.

The sudden decline in car prowl reports coincided with the arrest of three men at the end of November, after dozens of stolen items were found in homes they were staying in.

Ryan Timmons was ar­rested November 27 after a cell phone he took from a truck parked behind the Ski Bluewood office was tracked to a house on East Com­mercial Street. Timmons admitted to officers that he broke into a number of cars and stole various items. He was charged with theft and possession of stolen prop­erty, and is being held in the Columbia County Jail. He is tentatively scheduled to go to trial in Columbia County Su­perior Court on February 11.

Kenneth Toliver and Car­los Arroyo were arrested November 30 after a search warrant was served on the house they were staying in. A large cache of stolen items was found in the house and yard. Toliver was also charged with theft and pos­session of stolen property, and Arroyo was charged with possession of stolen property. Arroyo is being held in Walla Walla and Toliver is being held in Pomeroy. Both are tentatively scheduled to go to trial in Columbia County on January 28.

According to the Colum­bia County Prosecutor's Of­fice, the fact that the sudden drop in reported car prowls coincided with the three ar­rests is circumstantial, and can't be used in court against the defendants.

The Sheriff's Office is also reporting that it still has a number of stolen items col­lected from the defendants that have not been claimed. Anyone believing that items were stolen from their ve­hicles in Dayton during that time period should call the Sheriff's Office at (509) 382- 2518.