Though as noted earlier, charges are not yet filed, a question that’s frequently discussed in comment threads (and elsewhere) is: What was the motive for the Nov. 30 theft of the West Seattle Rotary Viewpoint Park totem pole (past coverage here, newest to oldest)? We have obtained a court document which may shine a little light – it’s the “probable cause” document filed in connection with this week’s arrest – read on:
This is an exact transcription, with one exception: We have excluded names except for the ones that have already been reported in earlier stories. The narrative is written by a Seattle Police detective on the case. The document was provided by the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, from the “superform” which is often available to the media on request even before charges are filed:
On 12/03/09 Terry Boden from Seattle Parks called Seattle Police and reported a Totem pole stolen from West Seattle Rotary Club Viewpoint Park … I was assigned the case on 12/04/09 and contacted Boden at 1230 hrs. He told me that he had found out that (towing company) towed (crane company) Crane out of the mud in the park on 11/30/09 at about 1900 hrs and the owner of the crane was (Crane Owner). (Crane Owner) had told him that a man named (suspect) hired him to move the Totem pole to (suspect’s) property in Black Diamond on Lake Sawyer. Boden did not know the exact address. He had contacted (suspect) and (suspect) told him he knew nothing about it. Boden gave me the names and phone numbers of the people he had contacted.
On 12/04/09 at 1320 hrs I called (crane company owner). He told me that he was hired by (suspect) to remove the Totem pole and transport it to (suspect’s) property located at (address) in Black Diamond. He said he did work for (suspect) about a year ago through (a tree service). (suspect) had contacted him about moving this Totem pole a couple weeks earlier but plans fell through. (Suspect) called (crane company owner) the morning of 11/30/09 to see if he could move it later that evening. (crane company owner) said he could do it then. (Crane company owner) told me that he met (suspect) at 1600 hrs in Kent and (suspect) accompanied him and showed him where to go to pick up the Totem pole. (crane company owner) told me that (suspect) told him that he was on an arts commission for the City of Seattle and was taking the Totem pole to his property to refurbish it. (Crane company owner) told me that he believed (suspect). He took it to (suspect’s) property and unloaded it onto the gravel area in front of his garage/shop. (suspect) wanted him to put it in the garage on the property, but the boom was too high. (Crane company owner) left (suspect) there with the Totem pole. (crane company owner) gave me a written statement.
On 12/07/09 at 0900 hrs I spoke with (towing driver). He told me that he towed out the (boom crane). He said (crane company owner) was the owner of the crane and was present while he pulled the crane out of the mud. (Towing driver) said there was an older man sitting in the passenger seat of the crane. He said the Totem pole was already loaded onto the crane/truck when he arrived.
At 1000 hrs I called (suspect) and asked him what he knew about the missing Totem pole. He told me that he did not know anything about it until someone from the Rotary Club called him and asked him about it. (Suspect) invited me to meet with him at his property located at (address) to confirm what he was telling me. He told me that he knew nothing about a stolen Totem pole. He told me that the first he heard of it was when someone from the West Seattle Rotary Club called him and asked him if he knew anything about it. At 1145 I checked (suspect’s) property and shop/garage at his invitation and did not see any sign of a totem pole. (suspect) gave me a written statement declaring he knew nothing of a stolen or missing totem pole.
After leaving (suspect’s) property I contacted (neighbors who say they are friendly with the suspect) … (Neighbor) told me that (suspect) has been talking about getting a totem pole for his property for several months. (Neighbor) said he told her that he is in negotiations with someone about getting a Totem pole. He told her that he planned to put it in the two-story stairwell of his garage/shop. (Neighbor) told me that sometime early last week she saw a large truck with outriggers deliver something at about 2230 hrs at night. She thought it was strange that this delivery was being made so late.
On 12/08/09 at 1000 hrs I called the Black Diamond permit office and got the name of the contractor on record for (suspect’s) building permit for his (address) property, which is under construction. I contacted the contractor by phone. He told me that he was aware that (suspect) had been trying to acquire a large Totem pole with wings with the intent of putting it in the two-story stairwell of his shop/garage. He told me that (suspect) did acquire a Totem pole with wings. (contractor) said it was in (suspect’s) driveway in front of his garage on Tuesday, December 1, 2009. (contractor) and some other workers helped (suspect) move it into his garage. (contractor) had never seen it before. He said it was about 19′ long and had a ten-foot wingspan. (Contractor) gave a written statement.
(2nd contractor) is a contractor who works with (contractor) on (suspect’s) property occasionally. He also gave me a written statement indicating that he saw a Totem pole with wings in (suspect’s) garage on Tuesday, December 1, 2009 and had never seen it there before.
On December 9, 2009, Officer (name) went to (suspect’s) residence located at (Palm Avenue address) to arrest (suspect) for theft. He saw (suspect) get into his car and start to drive away from his house. Officer … stopped and arrested (suspect). Officer … read (suspect) his Miranda Rights. (suspect) consulted with an attorney and eventually told us we could find the stolen Totem pole at a Senior Center in Keizer, Oregon, on a boat trailer.
I contacted Keizer Police and they did locate and recover the stolen Totem pole that was stolen from West Seattle Rotary Club Viewpoint Park.
Seattle Parks transported both Totem poles back to Seattle. I submitted the second Totem pole into evidence and took digital photos of it. I had been contacted by (manager of Renton Fred Meyer). He told me they were missing a Totem pole without wings. He had documentation with photos from when the Totem pole was dedicated in 1975. I went to Fred Meyer and matched the digital photos of the Totem pole I had submitted into evidence with the photos of the Fred Meyer Totem pole from 1975. They were very obviously the same Totem pole. There were two different faces that were visible in both the digital photos that I took and the pictures from 1975 that were an exact match. I spoke with (the man who carved the Fred Meyer Totem pole) and he told me he has never carved two that were the same.
There is probable cause to believe that (suspect) knowingly possessed the stolen wingless Totem pole from the Fred Meyer … in Renton.
Again, this is the document written in reference to the second totem pole, which was the case for which the suspect was arrested again this week (here’s our report), for investigation of possession of stolen property. He was in jail for about seven hours; at a hearing that same day, a judge granted “conditional release.”
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