An Aloha man stole a Sheriff's Office bait package from a home less than two blocks from where he resides. Deputies later learned he had damaged the package in an attempt to destroy evidence.
Early Thursday morning, Washington County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to an alarm activation from a bait package at a residence near Southwest 170th Avenue and Southwest Jenkins Road in Aloha.
Deputies used GPS technology to track and isolate the location of the package to inside a residence less than two blocks from where it had been stolen. Deputies made several announcements into the home for an extended period of time but the suspect refused to come out.
While deputies were writing a search warrant to enter the residence to apprehend the suspect, a homeowner arrived and the suspect surrendered. Deputies detained 27-year-old Gary Medeiros, who lives at the residence.
During the investigation, deputies learned that Medeiros had stolen the package and later damaged it in an attempt to destroy the evidence.
Medeiros was arrested for mail theft, theft in the second degree, tampering with physical evidence, criminal mischief in the third degree, and a parole violation. He is being held at the Washington County Jail.
The Sheriff's Office would like the public to know that numerous bait packages have been proactively deployed throughout Washington County to deter theft and catch those who steal during the season of giving. This is the third year the Sheriff's Office has conducted this program.