With the help of a stolen pair of AirPods, Oak Harbor police were able to catch suspects in a series of thefts from parked cars and recovered items ranging from fancy sunglasses to a CPAP machine, according to court documents.
Police reports on the case state that the suspects, Kyle Larson and Christian Easley, were caught with more than a dozen bags that had been stolen from cars in the northeast and northwest areas of the city on July 20. They are both 22-year-old transients from out of the area, a report states.
Early that morning, a resident reported to police that Apple AirPods and a vape had been stolen from his car. He was able to “ping” the AirPods to the area of the transit station on Bayshore Drive. Police found the two suspects with bags. Officers recognized them as being involved in an earlier collision in the area of Southwest 12th Court that totaled their car, the report states.
The man with the missing AirPods came to the scene and started playing music, which could be heard from one of the bags. He showed the officers that his phone was still paired with the AirPods.
The suspects allegedly told officers that they bought a couple of bags off acquaintances who showed them areas where they could prowl parked cars, the report states. Larson also admitted that he initially gave officers his brother’s name because he was wanted on a warrant, an officer wrote.
The bags as well as the car from the collision were taken to the police station to be searched. A police report states that the car, which the suspects have been living out of, was completely filled with personal items, food, clothing, bags, tarps and camping equipment.
“How Christian and Kyle both fit plus the dozen or so bags they removed to take with them was unfathomable,” a police report states.
Among the items found inside the car and bags were metal knuckles, a weighted sap, a laptop computer, three tablets, a BB gun, a Nintendo Switch, a winter coat, keys, several garage and car remotes, religious texts, a wrist weight, tools, ammunition and more.
In a Facebook post, police asked residents to check their vehicles for missing items. The officers found some “high-dollar items” whose owners haven’t been identified.
“This is excellent police work to put all the pieces together from different areas of the city to catch the thieves before they boarded a transit to leave the area,” the post states.
At a July 22 hearing, a judge in Island County Superior Court found probable cause existed to believe Larson committed the crimes of possessing stolen property in the second degree, trafficking in stolen property in the second degree, criminal impersonation, theft in the second degree and possession of dangerous weapons. The judge set his bail at $35,000.
The judge also found probable cause existed to believe Easley committed the crimes of possession of stolen property, trafficking in stolen property, theft and possession of dangerous weapons. The judge set her bail at $1,500.
