Methods similar to burglaries in Ephrata, Tri-Cities

MOSES LAKE ‹ Four suspects didn't get away with any merchandise during an early Tuesday morning burglary, but the methods they used are leading police to believe they are related to burglaries at previous Wal-Mart stores in central Washington earlier this year.

Moses Lake Police responded to the Wal-Mart store at 1005 N. Stratford Road shortly after 2 a.m. Tuesday, after employees reportedly discovered the burglars attempting to steal more than $4,000 in merchandise through a hole in the store's garden center fence. Police reports stated store employees chased off the alleged burglars before they had loaded up any merchandise, but Moses Lake Police Det. Juan Loera said the methods the suspects used were similar to those used in burglaries this spring at Wal-Mart stores in Ephrata and the Tri-Cities.

"The garden center seems to be the avenue for their escape route," Loera said.

Police reports indicate four suspects entered the store and filled approximately $4,413 worth of merchandise into two shopping carts and wheeled those carts into the store's garden center. The suspects then took a pair of bolt cutters from the store and cut a 4-foot by 3-foot section out of the center's cyclone fencing and started to pass trash cans filled with the merchandise through the opening. Loera said the suspects fled in a red Pontiac Grand Prix after being seen by store employees.

The suspects were captured on the store's security cameras, and Loera said investigators are also seeking information on an older greenish Chevrolet Impala.

Ephrata Police responded to a similar incident April 5, in which burglars made off with more than $5,000 in merchandise through the Ephrata Wal-Mart garden center. Ephrata Police Chief Joe Varick said his department does not have any suspects in that case, but described the Moses Lake incident as "very similar."

Local Wal-Mart officials were unable to comment on the incident, but Loera said Moses Lake Police are working with the store's loss prevention officer.

Moses Lake Police are seeking suspects based upon footage of the incident captured by the store's security cameras. Police are seeking a white male in his early 20s, 5 feet 9 inches to 5 feet 10 inches tall with a slender build and weighing approximately 145 pounds; a Hispanic male in his mid 20s, 5 feet 8 inches to 5 feet 9 inches tall with a stocky build and weighing approximately 200 pounds; and a white female in her early to mid-20s, 5 feet 7 inches tall with long blonde hair and weighing approximately 165 pounds.

Anyone with information on the burglary is asked to call Loera or Det. Dave Sands at (509) 766-9230.