WASHINGTON STATE COMPUTER STOLEN Lights & Sirens - Man finds his stolen computer online, leads Tacoma detectives to suspected burglar | The News Tribune | Tacoma, WA:

Thursday, April 23rd, 2009
Man finds his stolen computer online, leads Tacoma detectives to suspected burglar
Posted by Stacey Mulick @ 10:00:00 am

Tacoma police have arrested a 19-year-old man in connection with two home burglaries and he's being investigated for others in Bellevue, Mercer Island and Renton.

Prosecutors charged Jordan Wilson Lee with eight crimes Wednesday - two counts of first-degree theft and one count each of first-degree burglary, residential burglary, second-degree theft, theft of a firearm, second-degree malicious mischief and first-degree trafficking in stolen property. He was arraigned Wednesday and ordered held in Pierce County Jail in lieu of $75,000 bail.

Court documents provide the following information:

A Tacoma man came home Feb. 18 and found he had been burglarized. The burglar stole more than $2,500 worth of property, including a 9mm Ruger pistol and a platinum VISA card, and then left the back sliding door and door to the basement open. A woman living at the house later got a call from her credit card company saying that the VISA had been used to buy food. Someone also had tried to withdraw $200 from the ATM.

Earlier this month, the man returned home to find it had again been burglarized. This time, more than $3,500 worth of property had been stolen, including a flat panel TV and iMac computer. The victim, who was very upset, told officers the computer had been chained to the leg of a table. The computer and table leg were gone. The burglar also broke a window, causing $800 in damage.

Seven days later, the burglary victim spotted his computer being sold on Craigslist.

"Posing as a buyer, he had convinced the posting party to send additional photos of the computer," court documents state. "(The victim) was able to determine that the computer was his based on the customized desktop on the computer as well as its appearance and peripherals."

The seller's e-mail was listed as leeups@hotmail.com.

The victim contacted Tacoma police detectives, who obtained a search warrant for Lee's home. They served the warrant Tuesday and found "a bundle ofstolen loot in the defendant's bedroom and home," court documents state.

Investigators also discovered several flat panel TVs and the Tacoma man's 9mm Ruger. A credit card stolen in a burglary at a Mercer Island home was located.

Lee initially told officers he'd purchased the stolen items on Craigslist. He later admitted to the two Tacoma burglaries and others in Mercer Island, Renton and Bellevue. (Reports on those crimes will be forwarded to the King County Prosecutor's Office for a charge decision.)

Lee told officers he would conduct surveillance on the homes he broke into.

"He said he enjoyed driving by the residences after he had broken into the homes to watch the upset homeowners reporting the burglaries after they were discovered," court documents state.