Pair Of Burglars Caught In The Act

SPOKANE – Police officers arrested two people after catching them in the act of burglarizing a home in a southwest Spokane neighborhood.

Just after 2 p.m. officers pulled over 40-year-old Jason Ray near the intersection of Maple and 5th in a stolen truck with thousands of dollars in stolen goods in the truck bed. At the same time another team of officers were arresting a second suspect who was also driving a stolen vehicle.

They burglars reportedly took about everything they could get their hands on from plasma televisions and firearms to a toaster, string cheese, family photos and personal identification.

What Jason Ray and the other suspect didn’t know was that Spokane police officers were just feet away watching the whole thing.

“Some of our detectives were doing surveillance on some suspects and they witnessed a burglary in progress,” Officer Jennifer Deruwe with the Spokane Police Department said. “They observed the suspects loading up the pickup truck full of goods from the home.”

The second suspect, who has not been identified, got into a stolen car while Jason Ray got into the stolen truck. Within minutes the police pulled over both men.

“In this case it was absolutely picture perfect for the police department to catch these guys, to catch them in the act. The one guy who’s in custody here has an extensive criminal history locally and he has a misdemeanor warrant,” Deruwe said, referring to Ray.

The homeowners were able to get their stolen items back after police documented all of the goods and then immediately returned them to the rightful owners

“This is why we do what we do. I mean this is good old fashioned police work. I just think it’s amazing from our detectives to our patrol units, this is what it’s all about,” Deruwe said.

Both suspects were taken into custody and are facing first degree burglary charges.