By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – Chehalis police found numerous clues in Wal-Mart’s security video as they scoured the images after the suspected driver of a stolen $50,000 truck eluded pursuing deputies and slipped into the Chehalis super store a week ago.
Sgt. Brian Hickey said he couldn’t make out the license plate of the white van that appeared to pick up the suspect about five minutes after he entered the business on Dec. 2, but he later spotted a similar vehicle and ran the plates to discover the registered owner had been booked into jail before. He looked like the same guy, according to Hickey.
The clincher was the hooded sweatshirt with distinctive stripes shed by the suspect before departing Wal-Mart, according to Hickey. The van’s owner was wearing a jacket like that in his Facebook picture, Hickey said.
It was about 4:40 a.m. a week ago Sunday when a Lewis County sheriff’s deputy attempted to pull over a speeding driver near a Chehalis automobile dealer on North National Avenue. After the chase ended [1] at Wal-Mart, deputies and police surrounded the building but the driver vanished.
The 2012 Chevrolet pickup truck had been stolen from Titus Will.
Hickey interviewed his suspect yesterday, after the 28-year-old Centralia resident was picked up by Centralia police.
“So, I go to ask him questions, like, do you know why police are looking for you?” Hickey said this morning.
“He says yeah, I got an idea,” Hickey said.
“Well?” Hickey asked him.
“Oh, for crimes,” the suspect answered, according to Hickey.
“Yeah?” Hickey said he asked.
“For breaking into the coffee stands,” the man replied, according to the sergeant.
Hickey said Garrett R. Dschaak told him about twice stealing from Ooh La Latte [2] on Bishop Road in Chehalis and two recent espresso stand burglaries in Centralia.
He said he lost his job about a month ago, and needed the money, Hickey said.
“So, when he got done talking about all that stuff, which I didn’t know he was involved in, we talked about Wal-Mart,” Hickey said. “Cleared up a lot of crimes.”
Dschaak was booked into the Lewis County Jail yesterday for attempting to elude and possession of a stolen vehicle. More charges can be expected from the other police agencies, according to Hickey.
The suspect is scheduled to go before a judge this afternoon.