Woman sentenced for truck load of stolen property

EPHRATA - A woman discovered with items taken in a string of Spokane-area burglaries is serving more than two years in prison.

Susan Burke, 51, of Spokane Valley, pleaded guilty in Grant County Superior Court to possession of methamphetamine, first-degree possession of stolen property, attempted residential burglary and making or having burglar tools, according to court records.

The guilty plea came after a mistrial was declared in September because a witness changed her testimony, according to court records.

Burke's prior convictions include money laundering, bail jumping, second-degree possession of stolen property, possession of methamphetamine, second-degree theft, second-degree burglary, first-degree possession of stolen property and burglary, according to court records. When combined with her present convictions, Burke faced a sentencing range of three years and 11.25 months to five years in prison.

Grant County Superior Court Judge John Knodell followed the prosecutor's recommendation, sentencing Burke under a drug offender sentencing alternative. The alternative means Burke will spend two years and 2.8 months in prison and the same amount of time in community custody. She will need to take drug treatment.

Knodell also sentenced Burke to an additional 30 days for having burglar tools.

Prosecutor Angus Lee stated Burke's criminal history appeared to motivated by drug addiction.

"The legislature created the drug offender sentence as a way to hold criminals accountable and protect the community, while also forcing the defendant to undergo treatment for the drug addiction that is causing them to commit crimes," Lee stated. "By forcing the drug treatment the defendant either stops doing drugs, and thereby stops committing new crimes, or she goes back to jail."

Burke was caught with the items in November 2011 when the man she was with, Joseph A. Lynch, 30, of Spokane Valley, reportedly broke into a car, according to a Moses Lake police report. A witness allegedly saw him enter into the victim's vehicle in the Lep-Re-Kon parking lot and search it before getting into a rental truck and leaving.

Officers found the truck in front of an empty residence on the 1700 block of Lakeside Drive, according to the police report. When police approached the residence, Lynch reportedly fled, running across a neighboring backyard. Officers allegedly caught Lynch in the parking area of a nearby residence.

Burke was a suspect in several burglaries in the Spokane area, according to the police report. She would take cabinets from empty residences. In one case, she was caught in the home of a recently deceased person, where she told a family member she was a friend of the deceased. Burke relayed details of the person's life, and police believed she was using obituaries to find victims.

Moses Lake officers found items from a recent Spokane area burglary in the truck, along with numerous laptop computers, several bags, boxes and other items in the back of the truck, according to the police report. Officers discovered 6.9 grams of methamphetamine in the truck as well.

Lynch remains charged with attempted residential burglary, making or having burglar tools, third-degree malicious mischief and resisting arrest, according to court records. A bench warrant was issued on Jan. 12, 2012.