Spokane Police bust suspected package thief on Christmas Eve

Ariana Lake by Ariana Lake, Melissa Luck

SPOKANE, Wash. – With a search warrant on Christmas Eve, Spokane Police found a man who admitted stealing Christmas gifts from Spokane porches in December.

Spokane Police were trying to track down package thieves first spotted in the 5000 block of North Lidgerwood on December 6th. In that case, a woman was seen getting out of a Ford Ranger, then stealing a package off the porch of a home. She got back into that truck, which was later tracked to someone living in the 2000 block of West Wellesley.

Two days later, Spokane Police received more surveillance pictures of people stealing packages in Spokane. In two of those cases, cameras captured the same woman and that same Ford Ranger. Police found the truck at the back of the home on W. Wellesley and police continued their investigation.

On Christmas Eve, Spokane Police received yet another video of the same truck. Police say the video was taken early that morning and shows a large white item in the bed of the truck. Police also say you can see someone carrying a package under their arm and walking to the truck. Officers then drove by the home on Wellesley and saw the truck with brand new tires wrapped in white bags, consistent with what they saw in the package theft video.

Later that day, the Spokane Police PACT team got a search warrant for the home on W. Wellesley. They found a large number of stolen presents and also interviewed Duane Yarnell. Police say Yarnell admitted to them that he was involved in the theft that morning. Officers found approximately 35 stolen items in the home, which included horse feed and personalized gifts.

Police have also identified the woman in the video; they say the investigation into her role is ongoing.

Spokane Police are working to return the stolen gifts to their rightful owners.

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