PORT ANGELES — Port Angeles police Thursday made another arrest they said is linked to a drug-related burglary ring that occurred in the city last month and in early September.
Stephanie J. Kahler, 28, of Port Angeles was arrested and booked in the Clallam County jail for investigation of second-degree burglary and second-degree theft.
Port Angeles Deputy Police Chief Brian Smith said Kahler is a known associate of Paul A. Spoon, a 32-year-old Port Angeles man who was charged Tuesday in a string of 18 burglaries, thefts and forgeries.
Police Sgt. Jesse Winfield spotted Kahler in an alley behind a house at the corner of South Laurel Street and Whidby Avenue at 10:48 a.m., Smith said.
“This case is connected to a larger burglary,” said Smith, who added that Kahler was “involved in some fashion” with the crime ring.
A person who was with Kahler, Christopher M. Mitchell, 20, of Port Angeles, was arrested on a warrant for failure to appear.
It was unclear whether Mitchell was involved in the burglaries, Smith said.
The arrests were made in an alley behind a house at 101 Whidby Ave.
The house is the residence of David Fox, a Port Angeles attorney who ran unsuccessfully for Clallam County commissioner in 2008 and for the 5th Congressional District based in Spokane in 2010. He also announced candidacy for Clallam County prosecuting attorney in 2010 but didn’t file.
Fox is not suspected in the burglaries.
“He [Fox] was not inside at the time,” Smith said.
“He spoke to officers in the alley, then left the area.”
Port Angeles police obtained a search warrant to look for stolen property, drugs and people inside the house and in the vehicle Kahler had been in.
City police, Clallam County sheriff’s deputies and the Olympic Peninsula Narcotics Enforcement Team broke through the front door of the house and arrested Christopher M. Brown, 32, of Port Angeles for investigation of cocaine possession.
A second person inside the house was detained but not arrested.
The door was broken in because the occupants refused to open it, Smith said.
Fox phoned the Peninsula Daily News shortly before 7 p.m. Thursday night to make a statement, which began:
“It is a sad day when the forces of evil triumph over the good, whatever the outcome of this outrageous, unlawful and unconstitutional search of my house and office,” Fox said.
“Nevertheless, the bare and naked truth remains: This community is no friend to the dispossessed, nor is it a companion to the downtrodden.”
Port Angeles police continue to investigate the thefts and burglaries that occurred in several schools, businesses and public agency buildings.
The value of the stolen property is at least $10,000, Smith has said.
Spoon was arrested Sept. 14 while jumping out of a window of a residence. Police found tools that were stolen from DelHur Industries in the living room of Spoon’s apartment on the 4000 block of Newell Road in Port Angeles.
More arrests are expected, Smith said.
“We’re working towards recovering all of the property stolen,” he said.
“It’s on ongoing effort.”
Anyone who suspects they have stolen property is asked to phone the Port Angeles Police Department at 360-452-4545.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
