WHATCOM COUNTY, Wash. – A bait device led Whatcom County deputies to a car prowl suspect from an area beset by the crime.
Sheriff Bill Elfo says in a news release that the 3100 block of Locust Avenue, just off Marine Drive, has seen a rash of car prowls in recent weeks.
On June 7th, deputies planted a cellphone with a tracking device inside a backpack in a parked vehicle.
They received an alert that it had been stolen at about noon and it sent them photos of the suspect as they tracked him down.
Deputies stopped 32-year-old David A. Barber as he drove near Northwest Drive and Jefferson Street.
The backpack and bait phone were recovered from his vehicle and deputies say Barber confessed to the car prowl.
They arrested him on charges of theft, vehicle prowl and driving with a suspended license.
Anyone with information about more car prowls this suspect may have been involved in are asked to call the sheriff’s office at 360-778-6600.