The Washington County Sheriff’s Office bait package program has caught another suspect.
On Thursday,Washington County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to an alarm activation from a bait package deployed by detectives at a residence in the area of West Baseline Road and Southwest 170th Avenue in Aloha.
Deputies converged on the area and within three minutes of being dispatched arrived in a nearby apartment complex where the bait package was showing to be located.
Beaverton Police Officer Jered Lutu and his partner, K-9 Toa, arrived and tracked from the original bait package location to a stairwell leading to several apartments which coincided with the location given by GPS. Deputies then used a handheld beacon to narrow down the specific location of the bait package to an individual unit in the complex.
Deputies spoke with a female resident of the unit and upon searching her bedroom located the stolen bait package. Lehua Kawaha, 44 of Aloha, was arrested for mail theft, second-degree theft, and a parole violation detainer. She is being held at the Washington County Jail.
Detectives from the Property Crimes Unit have deployed numerous bait packages throughout Washington County to deter potential thieves and catch those who steal during the season of giving. This is the program’s four year of deployment.
Last week, deputies arrested an Amazon Flex delivery driver after he stole a bait package. In 2017, deputies arrested three individuals during two holiday bait package activations that occurred on December 7 and December 18.
Source: Washington County Sheriff's Office