Metal theft suspect arrested after chase

MOSES LAKE - Thanks to the help of a Moses Lake resident, Grant County deputies caught a metal theft suspect after a foot chase off Stratford Road Thursday.

Randi Bechyne, a resident on Stone Road Northeast, said a man riding a bike passed by her home just before 3 p.m. She didn't think anything of it until her dog outside started barking. When she went outside, she saw the suspect bent over, attempting to push something under a fence across the street.

She asked the suspect, later identified at Jeremy L. Burns, 31, of Moses Lake, what he was doing. He allegedly told her he was just looking at a boat to see if it was for sale, never making eye contact with Bechyne. Burns then started walking east with his bike.

Bechyne found a sweater with metal equipment hidden inside near the fence. She then called 9-1-1 and grabbed her car keys to follow him down Stone Road when he allegedly jumped a fence and hid in the bushes in a nearby field.

Deputies arrived and noticed Burns hiding and he took off running, heading south to Maple Drive Northeast then back up to Stone Road where Deputy Jaret Fulbright eventually caught him in a fenced yard. Burns allegedly jumped numerous fences and had blood on his arms.

Burns was arrested and will be charged with possession of stolen property. He also had a felony warrant for first-degree trafficking in stolen property, according to Sheriff Tom Jones.