Man allegedly steals phone from Bellingham home — guess how police tracked him down
A Roosevelt neighborhood resident awoke and chased an alleged burglar out of their house early Wednesday, and police located him by tracking the cell phone he reportedly had just stolen.
Bellingham police booked Brandon Lee Moore, 38, into Whatcom County Jail Jan. 8 on suspicion of four counts of second-degree theft and one count of residential burglary. Jail records show he is being held in lieu of $20,000 bail.
Officers were called at 1:38 a.m. to the 1500 block of East Maryland Street after two victims reported waking up to find their home was being burglarized, according to the police log.
One of the victims chased Moore out of the home and down the street, Lt. Claudia Murphy told The Bellingham Herald. Officers set up a perimeter in the area and began a track with K-9 Destro.
Police also used the victim’s cell phone, which Moore had taken along with three credit cards, to locate the area Moore was, Murphy said. The phone had a value of more than $1,000.
An officer spotted Moore in the area and engaged him in a conversation, Murphy said. While talking to him, the officer determined that Moore had several cell phones in his possession, including the victim’s.
Moore was taken into custody, as the K-9 track led to where Moore was detained, Murphy said.
Surveillance video also showed a man matching Moore’s description with the same clothing committing the burglary, Murphy said, while a backpack that was left behind in the yard of the burglarized home contained personal items with Moore’s name on them.
According to Whatcom County Superior Court records, Moore has multiple previous convictions for identity theft, possession of controlled substance, retail theft, possession of stolen property and theft since 2006.
