Thurston County Sheriff says deputies will pursue smash & grab burglars under new interpretation of law
Thurston Co. sheriff takes new approach to pursuit laws
The Sheriff of Thurston County has issued a warning for thieves that are using stolen cars to smash into storefronts in his county. He says if you steal a car and smash it into a business, his office will come after you.
OLYMPIA, Wash. - The Sheriff of Thurston County has issued a warning for thieves that are using stolen cars to smash into storefronts in his county. He says if you steal a car and smash it into a business, his office will come after you.
Sheriff Derek Sanders says thieves can no longer hide behind the limitations from the state's pursuit laws in Washington, and they will be chased down and arrested.
The sheriff says there has been a huge increase in auto thefts and smash and grab robberies in the count since the state's stricter pursuit laws went into effect in 2021.
"If you’re planning on coming over to Thurston County with your buddies to do a bunch of damage to our businesses and flee from the scene... we are now going to chase you," said Sanders.
Those were strong words from Sanders after two local businesses were smashed into by thieves, using stolen cars. One is a marijuana shop, the other a pipe store.
Crimes like those have steadily been increasing since 2021, when the state legislature tightened police pursuit laws.
"Both of the cars used, that were dumped, were stolen out of Seattle," said Sanders.
Video from Olympia in October 2022 shows another similar crime in progress, after a crew crashed through the door of a pot shop. Sanders says that case is a good example of the damage that is being done to local businesses.
"It looks like an IED went off in the building and just blew it apart. There is no way we can go through and say this is not a deadly weapon that they are not intending to use deadly force on this building without knowing if anyone else is inside it," said Sanders.
Frustrated with limitations from Washington's pursuit laws, Sanders contacted the prosecuting attorney, who analyzed the law and determined that deputies would be able to go after those criminals through a new interpretation of that law.
"We decided that these are such horrendous crimes, we think it’s a burglary one," said Sanders.
Now crimes like this will be considered first degree burglary. Sanders says the new interpretation includes viewing the vehicles being used as "deadly weapons", putting the crime in a different category and making it a pursuable offense.
"Burglary first degree is a Class A felony, and it’s serious as it can get," said Sanders. "It’s home invasion burglary. It’s the home takeover. It does not talk about someone being in the building when the burglary occurred."
Sanders hopes that the change in the interpretation of the law helps to put a stop to the crimes, before businesses disappear.
"We’re not seeing the Walmart’s get hit, is the little marijuana stores, the little boutique stores, and they are the ones least likely to recover from it," said Sanders.
He says a deputy and sergeant can always make the decision back and forth whether to pursue or not, during each individual case. But, he says this does give them more options to prevent crimes like this from happening in the future.