Spy in the sky foils Gig Harbor shoplift suspects. Tracked to Puyallup, they’re cuffed.

Spy in the sky foils shoplifters

Three shoplifting suspects fled a Gig Harbor store with $4,600 worth of merchandise, but they didn’t know they were being tracked by an eye in the sky.

Gig Harbor police said they used coordinates from a satellite tracking device hidden in one of the stolen items to follow the suspects to Puyallup, where they were arrested.

Police said two of the men were caught on video taking items from Ulta Beauty, at 5500 Olympic Dr., on Aug. 21. The men were seen taking bags hidden under their clothing and filling them with items from the store shelves. Shortly afterward, officers were contacted by the store’s loss control manager, who said one of the stolen items was a package containing a device used to track shipments by satellite.

Using the coordinates provided by the loss prevention manager, officers traced a Volvo to an address on East 44th Street in Tacoma, and later to a fast-food restaurant on River Road in Puyallup, where the car was stopped. Police said two passengers in the car matched the video description of the shoplifting suspects, and the stolen goods were in the back seat.

The two men, both 39, were arrested, along with the driver, 38.

Police said the Ulta Beauty store had been the victim of a previous shoplifting incident on Aug. 16, when a man talking on a cellphone filled a basket with $1,300 worth of expensive perfumes and left without paying.

Police said there have been a rash of shoplifting incidents at beauty product stores in Gig Harbor in the last several weeks.

Trailer full of tools stolen

A cargo trailer filled with tools was stolen from a house under construction in the 3500 block of 53rd Street in Gig Harbor during the early morning hours of Aug. 17, police said. The trailer was used by carpenters working on the site to store their tools overnight.

Police said video from a house across the street showed a silver or gray Ford F-150 pickup back up to the trailer and driving it away. The white cargo trailer was later found abandoned in the 6100 block of 38th Avenue, police said. The lock had been cut, the rear doors were open, and all the tools were missing.

Hit and run leads to DUI arrest

A Gig Harbor man was charged with hit-and-run and driving under the influence after witnesses said his truck struck a car parked at Seven Seas Brewery, 2905 Harborview Dr. on Aug. 20. Police said officers used an address from the man’s credit card payment at the pub to trace him to his home in the 4700 block of 69th St. Ct., where they found him asleep at the wheel of his Ford F-259 pickup truck. When awakened, the 30-year-old man became belligerent and was handcuffed, officers said. He was cited and later released.

Keys left in car; car stolen

A Hyundai Santa Fe was stolen from the parking lot of Bracera Apartments, 11400 Olympus Dr., sometime during the night of Aug. 21, police said. The owner told police the car was unlocked and he had left the keys in the center console. The missing car had Washington plates BRD4397.

This story was originally published August 26, 2021 at 1:51 PM.