Tacoma Man Pleads Not Guilty To Upscale Suncadia Break-Ins

A Pierce County man is awaiting trial in Kittitas County after pleading not guilty to nearly a dozen felony charges connected to what police say was his role in a string of burglaries at upscale rental homes in the Suncadia area near Cle Elum.

The Ellensburg Daily Record says officers responded to one of the properties on Suncadia Trail in October after members of its management company reported damage to the home totaling nearly $17,000, along with numerous items that were missing and believed to have been stolen, including a mountain bike valued at over $4,700.

A witness reportedly told police he'd seen a man moving items between the home and a vehicle parked at a nearby condominium complex that was under construction, where a water heater and a tile saw were also reported stolen.

Investigators identified several suspects in the vandalism and thefts after linking the bill of sale attached to a vehicle that had been dropped off at the condominium complex to a woman who allegedly pawned several items in Tacoma only days after the crimes were reported.

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Among the items police say she pawned were a mountain bike and a tile saw which perfectly matched the descriptions of the ones that were reportedly taken.

Authorities say the thieves also targeted two other high-end rental homes in the same area and made off with several pieces of metal wall art, as well as televisions and other electronics.

Detectives ID'd one of the suspects, 34-year-old Tyler Jack Stout of Tacoma, using surveillance footage captured by a doorbell camera at one of the homes.

Stout was arrested for outstanding warrants earlier this month following a traffic stop by officers with the Bellevue Police Department, who also reportedly found a large stack of credit, gift, ID, and Social Security cards; hotel keys; bank statements; and washed checks in his possession.

Among the cache of stolen property was a credit card that detectives say Stout used to rent one of the properties which had been burglarized in the Suncadia area.

Investigators say they also linked Stout to the burglarized homes through DNA discovered on a cigarette butt that had been discarded at one of them.

Stout, who has since been extradited to Kittitas County, pled not guilty at his arraignment in Kittitas County Superior Court on Dec. 18.

He's facing a total of 10 felony charges, including three counts of second-degree identity theft, along with being an accomplice to three counts of residential burglary; two counts of second-degree theft; and one count each of first-degree malicious mischief and third-degree theft.

Judge Chris Herion set Stout's trial for Feb. 9.