Over the course of a week, between November 13th and 18th, our University Place deputies responded to several residents in a neighborhood at the 4200 block of Robin Rd W in University Place, stating a male with a bat had vandalized and damaged their vehicles, homes, porches, and yards. Surveillance video captures the man breaking outdoor lights, taking the light bulbs from porches, destroying people’s property in their yards, and prowling through vehicles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
On November 13th, deputies found that five tires on vehicles had been slashed with a knife by the suspect. Another neighbor had all their pumpkins smashed and their front porch messed up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On November 15th, other neighbors also reported that their mailboxes had been rummaged through, parked vehicles had been damaged, and several light fixtures were broken on their homes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On November 18th, after talking with the victims and reviewing surveillance, deputies were able to identify the suspect who lived down the road. Deputies attempted to make contact with the suspect in an attempt to make an arrest. He could be heard inside the home, but he refused to come out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Deputies could see in the suspect’s driveway a garbage bin with light fixtures and yard items that had been taken from several of the homes. Deputies applied for a seizure of persons warrant, and deputies made a second attempt to arrest the suspect. The suspect still refused to come out, and deputies had to use a breaching tool to get the front door open. Once deputies made entry, the 48-year-old suspect came peacefully downstairs and was arrested. He was taken to the Pierce County Jail and booked for malicious mischief in the 1st degree and theft in the 1st degree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There did appear to be a mental health component to this arrest, and we encourage all those who may be experiencing a mental health crisis to seek help before it leads to crimes such as these. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n