Man arrested in theft investigation; stolen property recovered

Stolen pickup truck and trailers found

PORT ANGELES — A Port Angeles man is in custody for investigation of 11 offenses, including five allegations of possession of stolen property and one of identity theft.

Trevor L. Franklin, 31, remained in Clallam County jail on $20,000 bail Tuesday.

He is jailed for investigation of first-degree possession of stolen property, second-degree possession of stolen property, two counts of third-degree possession of stolen property, possession of a stolen vehicle, identity theft, theft, obscuring the identity of a machine, failure to register as a sex offender and two counts of failure to appear.

Last Tuesday, Detective Brandon Stoppani attempted to contact and arrest Franklin at his residence on Airport Road in Port Angeles for failing to register as a sex offender.

While on the property, the detective said he discovered a license plate on a white Ford pickup that was not registered to Franklin and the VIN (vehicle identification number) attached to the plate did not match the VIN on the pickup.

Deputies Dylan Heck and Eric Morris followed up, executing multiple search warrants. They discovered the white pickup had been stolen from Bainbridge Island and was owned by a U-Haul company. The U-Haul stickers had been removed from the truck and were located on the ground near the truck, deputies said.

Deputies recovered the stolen Ford pickup, and two stolen trailers, from Franklin’s property, they said. Both had been reported stolen, the flatbed trailer from a Port Angeles resident and the 14-foot dump trailer from a resident of Des Moines.

Deputies found two checks inside the recovered Ford pickup with someone else’s name on them. Contacting the person whose name was on the checks, they were told the checks were not stolen. Deputies said that the checks were fraudulently created checks in the person’s name and could possibly be used to unlawfully purchase items or passed for cash.

Deputies added the charges of possession of a stolen vehicle, possession of stolen property in the first, second and third degrees and identity theft while he remained in custody at the Clallam County Jail.

The recovered pickup and stolen trailers were seized and returned to the property owners.

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Reporter Ken Park can be reached at kpark@peninsuladaily news.com.